Lomax Studio / CAN

Curated by María Francisca González

Architects: CAN
Area: 53 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs:Andy Stagg
Manufacturers: Kingspan Insulated Panels, Eurodec, Forticrete, Grestec

Lomax Studio / CAN - Brick, Windows, Facade — © Andy Stagg

Text description provided by the architects. A new artist studio for a sculptor and a printmaker nestled along a small industrial mews in New Cross, London. An 18th-century wash-house once sat on the site, long since demolished. The two volumes represent the opposing scales of the artist's work, the industrial and the domestic. The tiled volume houses the smaller working areas as well as the kitchen and bathroom. The larger volume contains the large working area. Externally this presents itself as 2 separate studios. Internally, the 2 volumes are unified with the same material palette.

To maximize space with a limited budget the studio uses a combination of 'off the shelf' materials and materials the clients had accumulated from their practice. CAN look to use these materials in such a way that elevated them from the ordinary to the ornamental, a theme which CAN have been exploring through other recent projects such as 'The Blockshop' at the RIBA. A mixture of new and old scaffolding components form the lightweight roof structure which through its complexity becomes ornamental. Galvanized services sit on a muted concrete block to reduce visual distraction.

A bathroom cube is tiled inside and out. Externally, the same tiles, topped with red concrete copings are used to clad the domestic volume. Industrial Steel Panels and concrete blocks signify the industrial shed. An Antique Pink arched entrance door and windows tie the volumes together and represent the flashes of color present in the artists work. The front of the studio can be completely shut down for security along the mews with all of the glass located to the rear opening onto the small courtyard garden. One high-level circular window punctuates the steel gable at the front.

Lomax Studio / CAN - Facade, Chair, Beam — © Andy Stagg

The gabled forms take their cue from the generic industrial shed and the 18th-century wash-house once located on the site. The tiled gables are ornamented with a double crow step. The volumes are off-set to create an external working area at the rear which also brings southern light into the kitchen through a set of double doors. Rooflights are arranged on the north facing pitches to bring diffused light into the large space.