This project transforms a derelict masonry and glass vine house into a home study and gym with a large open roof space inspired by the studio of the artist Brancusi.

Public House began the design of this project by saving the brick wall - surveying, detailing repair works and new timber lintels and incorporating it into the structural support for the new roof.

In collaboration with the Architects SOAK Studio, we developed a clean timber roof structure that followed the aluminium glazing rhythm. We designed bespoke support details against the brick wall and an oversized feature column incorporated into the glazed front façade. The structural timber for the rafters as well as the glulam elements is Douglas fir from Scotland.

The ground floor slab is designed and constructed as a limecrete slab. whilst still a product requiring firing, it has a lower embodied energy than cement-based products. As long as the ground is suitably prepared and compacted, a ground-bearing slab with low or no cement content is almost always achievable.