Made of Sand

Studio Weave were appointed to design a two-storey artist’s retreat as an addition to an existing stone cottage in Devon. The extension replaces a redundant garage and workshop that had fallen into disrepair. The project provides a flexible guest and creative space for the clients’ local family, friends, and artists. The space was required to be separately habitable from the main cottage – and is connected into the surrounding landscape via a restored stone stair which connects its own hallway to a private path along the rear hillside.

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Our design delivered a new addition which wraps around the old cottage, resulting in tessellating spaces which can also can be accessed internally via a shared antechamber. The structure of the extension remains on display throughout reducing material use and wastage: inside, the beams rhythm of the exposed Douglas Fir ceiling soffits are expressed in battening which is integrated into storage joinery and window reveals; outside, the external Red Western Cedar panelling is expressed in webbing which silvers in tandem with the surrounding woodland timbers. Internally, other natural materials such as brass, clay, and terracotta share a warm tonality.

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