The Studio
Type:
Residential
Floor area:
105m2
Completed:
2023
This Whakatū, Nelson artist's studio is characterised by its factory aesthetic of raw materials and ambiguous spaces forming a blank canvas where creativity can flourish. The clients have been transforming this rural site with native planting over the past two decades, and the studio sits as a sculpture in the considered green landscape, overlooking a rural bay.

The robust form is constructed from in-situ concrete to withstand the harsh coastal elements, its steel windows chosen for their industrial profile and positioned to capitalise on views and passive ventilation. Interior and exterior workspaces and services cater to the artist's multi-disciplinary practice, complemented by a secure office and ample storage. Longterm, the studio’s intentional design flexibility gives the clients the ability to transform the hilltop bunker into their primary residence, should they wish to downsize.
Photography by Sam Hartnett
2024

“Conceived of as a sculptural response to the artist-owner's needs, the architects have succeeded the brief, according to their client. “I feel one hundred percent of my cells harmonise at a beautiful frequency in this space,” she says of her new art studio. The robust box sits low to retreat in the site and is designed to weather whatever nature brings. The studio is future proofed to provide options for the owners, should they choose to downsize from the current, adjacent home as needs change.”