London practice Commonbond Architects has designed and built its own studio at the end of a garden in Abbey Wood using a combination of hempcrete and timber.
Named Gardenhide Studio, the workspace in southeast London is intended to showcase the potential of hempcrete ? a bio-composite material made from hemp and lime ? as a building material.
Commonbond Architects has self-built Gardenhide Studio
In addition to hempcrete, Commonbond Architects used reclaimed materials and a timber frame to create the cuboidal volume, which is topped with a mono-pitched roof.
"The main idea behind the project was to create something that felt permanent and not like a standard lightweight timber shed," studio co-director Kate Nicklin told Dezeen.
It contains the practice's own workspace. Photo by Dom Walker "Hempcrete offered an alternative construction which was good for self-building," added Nicklin.
"We like that it can be sourced in the UK and supports small-scale growers, we like that it creates a healthy environment to be in with no off-gassing and its breathable properties, that it sequesters carbon and is ultimately biodegradable."
The building is formed of hempcrete and timber
Though entered from the garden level, the studio is dropped a metre below ground. It is accessed by a set of wooden steps at the building's entrance, sheltered by deep beam-lined eaves.
"As you enter, you realise that the space is sunken into the ground by an additional metre,...