A PLACE OF POSSIBILITIES
LEADING ARCHITECTS REVEAL INNOVATIVE WAYS TO PLAN A HOME WORKSPACE
With the demand for home offices soaring, architects share professional advice
on how to create a practical, productive and perfectly planned scheme
‘ Recent events have proved that working from home is not just possible but can be very productive,’ says architect John Pardey, whose Hampshire-based practice works on a range of residential projects. As with many architects, home offices or studies have often been a part of his work but are not necessarily a given – something that has changed since the pandemic.
Architect Alex Michaelis spent the lockdown trying out different spots for home working around his Cornish house. Michaelis is a founding partner at Michaelis Boyd, whose portfolio includes impressive studies such as the glazed design shown opposite, but he is also a fan of informal ways of working from home, a kind of domestic hot-desking. ‘Maybe you have a series of small areas that you can repurpose – add a metal and glass screen to a half-landing, or create an area with a sliding partition to make private calls, or perhaps a little pod in the garden with a fantastic view.’
Repurposing the corner of a room or a landing is unlikely to need planning permission, but structural changes – a rear extension or loft conversion, even a new room above a garage – will need approval, especially if it is part of a listed building. ‘Many garden rooms or extensions are allowable under permitted development rights, including new elements at the back of an existing property, although some areas, such as conservation areas, and listed buildings have stricter rules,’ explains Pardey. ‘Budgets depend on size and what type of space is envisioned, but a 3x3 metre (9 square metre) space should cost between £9,000 and, at the high end, £22,000.’
George Saumarez Smith is a partner at ADAM Architecture and while his clients might have one or even two purpose-built home offices, his own study is small, but happily sufficient. ‘You don’t need a lot of space. My study is 2.9x1.8 metres, and is a kind of nerve centre for work. It stops work taking over the home. Good light is helpful. I find north light is best, so you don’t have issues with heat and glare, and I’ve noted that a view, if you have one, can be restful.’
Cotswolds-based architect Richard Parr believes this new age of home working is long overdue. He recently created a new workspace, converting an outbuilding into a studio with kitchen and shower room. ‘Formerly a grain loft, the new studio, with its mix of sensitive restoration and modern intervention, is the perfect juxtaposition of old and new,’ says Parr.
Thomas Griem, whose practice TG Studio is based in the heart of London’s West End, has created a range of working spaces for clients, from a fold-down desk to a separate garden building. ‘A desk area can be created behind a sofa in a living room or below the main staircase on the lower-ground floor. If a completely separate office is required, the house could be extended to the rear allowing the front room to be sealed off and used as an office, with direct access from the entrance hall.’
Almost everyone has discovered a new way of working in 2020, so now is the time to plan your space for this revolution in working from home – ready to reflect your new live-work balance.