London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

An Architect Builds an Elegant Modular Office in His Backyard Garden For $15K

An Architect Builds an Elegant Modular Office in His Backyard Garden For $15K

Proving beautiful design can be achieved in small spaces and on a small budget, an architect crafts a home office for his emerging practice in East London.

After completing a cork-clad extension to his terraced home in London, architect Richard John Andrews was ready to tackle his next project: an office in his back garden.

Creating a bespoke studio space would no doubt be a challenge-a limited budget, space constraints, and site conditions necessitated lightweight and low-cost materials-but Andrews, who prefers the flexibility of a self-build that could be used for both work and play, knew the endeavor would be worthwhile.



The Light Shed is wrapped in bituminous fiberglass corrugated mini profile cladding on battens with an UV open cladding membrane behind.

Since all construction needed to be handled on-site, Andrews developed a modular system of timber framing based on an eight-by-four sheet of plywood. He and an assistant prefabricated the lightweight panels complete with the structure, membranes, battens, and cladding of black lightweight corrugated fiberglass panels. The panels were installed by hand and bolted down onto a finished timber base structure supported on a foundation of small concrete pads poured in-situ.



The compact 130-square-foot office interior offers enough space for two to three people. The insulated floors are lined with Monckton Green vinyl by The Colour Flooring Company.



The bespoke joinery, desks, drawers, and vanity unit were also fabricated by Andrews on-site.

"As a project that was designed and built in-house, we had the unique opportunity to hone our knowledge of construction which will no doubt strengthen our approach to future work," says Andrews, who worked on the project on weekends and in his free time, and completed the office in 21 days across six months.

"Most importantly I wanted to create a comfortable and relaxed working environment as my practice’s first dedicated studio space. The project has been a refreshing reminder of what can be achieved when scale and budget are limited."



The view from Andrews’ Cork House extension to the Light Shed.

Since everything would be fabricated on-site, the materials-mainly plywood-needed to be lightweight and small enough to hand carry through the house to the back garden. Though the material palette was simple and low-cost, Andrews successfully crafted a welcoming space that feels much larger than its roughly 170-square-foot size, achieved with a minimalist design, an abundance of natural light, and the bespoke glazed doors that pull in views of the outdoor landscape.



Andrews fabricated the bespoke sliding door system on-site using SDS London Sliding Door Gear. The timber is finished in OSMO UV Oil.



The bespoke sliding door system conceals a small storage closet accessed from the outdoor deck.

The interior is bathed in diffused light let in by polycarbonate rooftop panels that also inspired the project’s name-The Light Shed. The soft lighting creates an ideal environment for model making, while harsh direct sunlight was strategically blocked on the east, south, and west sides.



The exposed pine beams finished in OSMO oil support the polycarbonate opal/diffused panels set on aluminum glazing bars.

Securing planning was a straightforward process, says Andrews. "The council got behind the submission because they thought it was of high quality in terms of design. It is nicely proportioned within the small garden, still leaves a sensible amount of garden area which has been planted and integrated with seating, and is of ancillary use to the main house."



The mature sycamore tree informed the asymmetry of the roof, which also mirrors the roofline of the main house and helps blocks views into the back garden, which has been revamped with cork seating and planters.

Though Andrews knows his practice will inevitably outgrow the Light Shed’s tiny footprint, he still welcomes the flexibility of the beautiful home office for family use. "If as a studio we can prove that such concept design successes are easy and inexpensive to realize, surely this approach can be discussed more positively instead of just something to overcome when designing an architectural intervention, no matter what the scale," he says.

"With current trends showing peoples’ willingness to explore alternatives to creating additional space as a means of maximizing their home-life, the Light Shed offers a superior solution to the common garden shed or summer house at a similar cost."



Superior insulation protects against temperature fluctuations. "We only require a Dyson Hot+Cold air to heat and cool the space. On really hot days, the large front sliding door system creates an opening of 2000mm (h) x 1300mm (w), which creates a very comfortable place to work and relax."



The office also includes a small bathroom.



The Light Shed ground floor plan



The Light Shed section

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×