Garden room

Designed for an English couple about to retire, and willing to spend more time in the garden, Patalab designed a cedar timber structure that will age into silver.

English studio Patalab was appointed to create a timber garden room as part of a wider refurbishment of an Edwardian house in Wimbledon. The project was for a couple about to retire, and therefore wanting to spend more time in their garden, potting and tending plants and enjoying a transition space as part of their home. The new garden room was thus a focal aspect of the overall project.

Patalab opted for a pavilion-like timber structure, keeping with the tradition of light buildings within gardens. The pavilion is composed of 36 cedar fins that will age into a silver colour. The series of fins have been designed to be denser when closer to the existing house and gradually spread out towards as the structure opens up and ‘dissolves’ into the garden.

An important consideration was highlighting the timber frame rather than  the steelwork that supports the pavilion and its cantilevered elements. T-shaped steels were designed to ensure that the supports weren’t visible. Computer modelling was used to minimise the size of the steel substructure and also to help space and position the fins parametrically.