Bridge Studio

The main studio space is top lit with generous roof lights, and the tall internal walls offer excellent hanging space for large canvases. A large dining room with connected kitchen opens off the studio, allowing expansive views down the river through full height windows.

The building spans a total of 18m and is designed to support loads in excess of 2.5 tonnes/m2 so that heavy art works can be transferred between the different studios and across the river to a new loading area. A travelling gantry crane is fitted in the studio space to assist with moving large art works.

The key design challenge of the project, beyond providing a physical link across the river, was mediating between the large industrial bulk of the production studio and the refined stonework of Chalford Place. This has been accomplished with a combination of careful massing and the use of natural materials and traditional building techniques. The single storey studio and dining room that face Chalford Place help to lessen the impact of the taller studio structure beyond, whilst vertical untreated oak boards and Cotswold stone walls laid in a traditional herring-bone bond provide a material connection with the listed building.