A Place for (Home) Work, Cannock Chase AONB

The new garden office building was conceived as a post lock down retreat in which to work and spend creative time, within an idyllic garden setting alongside a new self-built ‘organic swimming pond’. The building is simple in form providing an airy work space with a mezzanine deck. The large volume helps regulate summer temperatures, whilst the good thermal performance of the building, accuracy of off-site fabrication techniques and underfloor heating provides efficient, draft free warmth, during the cold seasons of the year. The building was an experiment with off-site fabrication methods and self-build construction, being manufactured from SIPS but clad in home made burnt timber cladding – here oak decking was used giving a robust, long-life cladding to the walls and roof. The office transitions from burnt oak cladding to an untreated oak deck, into the swim pond, built with submerged oak sleepers. The swim pond uses an integrated, home-developed filtration system driven by compressed air, providing water circulation, filtration, aeration and surface skimming. Upon completion, the pond immediately became a haven to wildlife and home to a huge variety of aquatic creatures, from dragonflies to great crested newts, the building provides a serene creative retreat.