A garden music studio on a steep Brighton plot by A Room in the Garden
Acoustic walls and glazing for late-night recording, mirrored and Millboard cladding, and a bespoke foundation on a garden reached by three stone stairways.
A music studio asks more of a garden building than most uses do. It has to keep sound in, so the owner can play late without worrying the neighbours, while still being a room that people want to spend long evenings in. This studio in Brighton by A Room in the Garden does both, and it was built on a garden that made the job harder still.
It replaces an old timber shed and gives the owner a private creative retreat, as well as a place to play with other musicians. Inside it measures 5.0m x 3.9m, close to 20sqm, under a roof that runs out to 5.6m x 4.9m.
At a glance
- Size: 5.0m x 3.9m inside, close to 20sqm, under a roof of 5.6m x 4.9m.
- Built for: a music studio in Brighton for late-night recording and practice, and for playing with other musicians.
- Construction: SIP panels with dense mineral wool and acoustic plasterboard, acoustic glazing throughout, on a bespoke foundation for a steep site.
- Finishes: mirrored cladding facing the house, Millboard on the front, a deep L-shaped overhang and a 2.0m x 1.0m skylight; white walls and a chestnut-toned floor inside.
- Company: A Room in the Garden, Brighton & Hove, designed by lead architect Lukas Brzozowski.
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Built for late-night recording
The acoustic work goes on top of the SIP panel construction that A Room in the Garden use for all their buildings. The walls are packed with dense mineral wool and lined with acoustic plasterboard, and heavy acoustic curtains add a further layer when they are drawn. Together they let the owner record and practise late into the evening without disturbing anyone nearby.
Glazing is usually the weak point in a music room. Rather than cut back on it, the team used high-performance acoustic glazing in every window and door, and in the skylight.
A steep garden and a narrow way in
The garden falls steeply, with several levels and new landscaping around the studio. Everything for the build came along a narrow path around the house and down three stone stairways. A Room in the Garden usually build on ground screws, which suit sloping sites, and designed a bespoke foundation for the terrain here, so the studio sits level on the slope with planting rising and falling around it.
Mirrored on one side, dark oak on the other
The elevation facing the main house is clad in mirrored panels. From the house, the studio reflects the garden back, so the view is of trees and planting rather than a building. The front is clad in Millboard, a dark oak-effect composite board A Room in the Garden have used before, which needs little maintenance.
A deep L-shaped overhang wraps the front of the studio. It shades the glazing and cuts glare on the screens inside, and in the evening it limits how much light spills towards the house, with wall lights set into the frame either side of the doors.
A light room to work in
Large sliding doors fill most of the front, alongside an oversized tilt-and-turn window, and a 2.0m x 1.0m skylight sits in the middle of the ceiling. The room is bright for a studio, which suits long sessions.
Walls and ceiling are white, the floor is a deep chestnut tone, and the sockets, switches and trims are black to match the window and door frames. Smart, dimmable recessed lights are set into the ceiling. The owner has hung guitars along one wall, with a desk and monitors at the back and a sofa for listening or for visiting musicians.
A Room in the Garden have filmed a short video tour of the studio and the garden around it.
“From start to finish, their professionalism, craftsmanship, and attention to detail were second to none.”
The owner
Designed for the client and the site
The level of detail in this project is testament to the eye of lead architect Lukas Brzozowski, and to A Room in the Garden’s aim of creating the building each client visualises, whether that is in its setting, its views or a non-standard material palette like the mirrored cladding here. It is evident across the body of articles we have written about their work. No two of their buildings are the same, because each is designed for the client and the site.
Learn more about A Room in the Garden
A Room in the Garden design and build garden rooms and living annexes from Brighton & Hove, working across Sussex and further afield, with a bespoke architectural service for buildings like this one. To discuss a music studio of your own, visit aroominthegarden.co.uk, call 01273 044 507, or email hello@aroominthegarden.co.uk.
