Now finished, this studio for Jo Angell (www.joangell.com) looks great in the Spring sunshine.  See News on March 26th for more detail.  Jo is designing an amazing canopy fot the Thrive charity garden at Chelsea this year (www.thrive.org.uk) and there was a model of it on the kitchen table yesterday.  It looks fantastic and will look wonderful full size.  If you are going to Chelsea this year make sure you check it out.  Jo is very happy to show people the studio so if you want to know what it looks like give us a call and we can arrange.

A small office in Cambridge we completed last year but our client has just completed some further landscaping so we called in last week to take some photos.  It was a freezing cold day with occasional snow flurries but it was lovely and warm in the office thanks to the underfloor heating and the excellent insulation.  Third photo shows what the garden looked like before!

Not quite finished but a good example of how our customers impact on our designs.  Jo Angell is a designer of fantastic textiles, wallpapers and other wonderful products; check out her web site: www.joangell.com.  Anyway, Jo wanted lots of light in her studio and opted for meter wide doors and windows in the front wall, slightly larger than the norm.  But they look fantastic and, even on the dull day when we took these photos, there was no need for artificial light.

The studio replaces a huge corrugated iron structure used by the previous owner as a pottery workshop and the neighbours are very pleased it has been replaced with a smaller and much more attractive building.  More photos to come when the studio is finished.

Edden: 2.4x 2.4m; £6,500 complete, £4,700 bare board

Collier: 6 x 3m; £17,800 complete, £15,320 bare board

McClelland: 3 x 3m; £12,100 complete, £9,900 bare board

Rawlings: 3.2 x 3m; £11,700 complete, £9,500 bare board

Wikinson: 5 x 5m; £23,000 complete, £19,800 bare board

Fowkes: 6 x 3m; £13,500 complete, £11,000 bare board

Insulated garden office with verandah

We recently completed this insulated garden office in our home town of Harpenden. With a hipped roof clad in cedar shingles and a verrandah for the client to hang his hammock, the office provides a good sized work space away from the clients two young chindren. Although the building required planning permission because it is higher than the 2.5m limit, this was readily granted. With 120mm of insulation in the roof and our standard 100mm thick walls and floor, the office has been very warm even during the recent cold. External cladding is vertical cedar and the decking is larch. The photo is not great but we shall be taking more if and when the we see the sun again.

Our latest build has provided a home gym for a fitness enthusiast and replaced a very old shed.  Sited on a sloping site, the building is clad in long lasting cedar with double glazed, argon filled windows and doors.  As well as providing power to the gym for the exercise equipment, we also extended the Sky cable to provide entertainment whilst working out.  The gym incorporates our usual underfloor heating and plasterboard finish.  Not the greatest photo but weather has been so poor recently; better to come in the Spring!

 Vivid Green creates studios and workshops for artists and crafts people looking for an inspiring, comfortable space in which to work.  The insulated garden buildings benefit from a high level of insulation creating warm spaces in winter and remaining cool in summer.  Recently completed installations include a sculptors’ studio, a bookbinders’ workshop and art studio.  Director Neil Johnston commented: “Our buildings have plenty of natural light and maintain an even temperature throughout the year.  Internal finishes include fire resistant pinboard which many people find very convenient to display working drawings, swatches and other materials.”  The bespoke garden buildings means that windows can be placed in any wall and size adjusted to suit.  The high quality and natural origin of the materials is appealing as is the low level of maintenance required and the security of windows and doors.

High level windows provide plenty of natural light for bookbinding

Pinboard walls inside an editors office

All Vivid Green buildings have a high level of insulation, underfloor heating and low or zero maintenance materials and components including cedar cladding to the exterior.  Options for the interior include naturally coloured, textured clay plasters as well as more conventional finishes.

Insulated garden building specialist Vivid Green recently completed a garden studio for music writer and producer Jon Musgrave which delivers excellent sound attenuation as well as a comfortable working environment.  Measuring 4.2 x 3.2 metres and with a vaulted ceiling, the high level of thermal insulation in our garden buildings significantly reduces sound transmission.  However, this was further enhanced by the addition of a number of special materials internally.   A second layer of ‘Soundblock’ plasterboard increased the mass of walls and ceiling and ‘Impactafoam’ strips were inserted between the battens and structural panels.  Finally, ‘Green Glue’ was used to secure the second layer of plasterboard.

The floor to ceiling windows give plenty of natural light but are deliberately smaller than normal to reduce sound loss.  Together with the underfloor heating and the high thermal efficiency of the windows and doors, the building exceeds the current standards for insulation in new housing.  Jon said: “this is a wonderful space in which to work, cool in Summer and warm in Winter with the added benefit of good sound insulation”.

A well insulated music studio

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Despite its size, this large office makes good use of a neglected corner of the garden

 Vivid Green recently completed this large insulated garden office in Woking for a client who had been renting office space in the town.  Partly as a cost saving measure, the client wanted a large garden office which would not be too obtrusive and chose a space at the bottom of the garden between large fir trees.  Vivid Green was chosen over competitors because of the quality of the construction and flexibility over design.  The underfloor heating was also a significant benefit and is being appreciated now the weather is on the turn.  Measuring 6 x 3m, the office provides plenty of space for a large desk, filing, bookcases etc. without dominating the garden.