Invisible Studio

Room in a Productive Garden

Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson

Room In A Productive Garden

Invisible Studio

ARCHITECTS
Invisible Studio

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Piers Taylor, Tara Breen

M&E
E3

CONTRACTOR
Ken Bigg

GLASS CONTRACTOR
Cantifix Ltd

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL
E3

STRUCTURE
Hydrock, Tim Macfarlane

PHOTOGRAPHS
James Stephenson

AREA
150 M²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
United Kingdo

CATEGORY
Hotels, Gymnasium

Text description provided by architect.

Room in a Productive Garden is a new 150m2 gymnasium for a hotel in Somerset in the grounds of Hadspen House.

Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson

Conceived in a manner as ‘no building’ – more, a window on to a mature productive garden with as few distractions from the garden as possible.

The garden provides food for the hotel, and is an important part of the arrival experience into the gymnasium.

Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson

The window for the gym forms the entire north wall of the vegetable garden and at 15m wide & 3.3m tall is one of the largest glass panels in the world.

The building sits in the garden in the manner of an orangery or greenhouse, of which there are several traditional structures in the adjacent courtyards.

Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson

Historically, these structures filled an entire (north) wall of a contained vegetable garden.

Internally, the space is lined entirely in beech, with all services including lighting and ventilation concealed between the slats.

The glass window forms a bay with glass sides, top and seat that frames a clear and immersive view of the garden.

Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson

Externally, the gym uses stone from the site, crushed and ‘rammed’ into the facing material.


Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson


Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson


Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson


Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson


Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson
Room in a Productive Garden
© James Stephenson


Room in a Productive Garden
Plan

Room in a Productive Garden
Plans
Room in a Productive Garden
Plans
Room in a Productive Garden
Plans
Room in a Productive Garden
Detail


Room in a Productive Garden
Section
Room in a Productive Garden
Detail section


Room in a Productive Garden
Structural diagram