Small Wonder
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The studio’s redwood siding was milled from trees salvaged from a road-widening project in Sonoma County, California. The hardware, “two-hundred dollars’ worth of stainless-steel screws,” says Deeds, was purposefully left exposed as an architectural detail. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
Deeds, a lifelong sailboat racer, designed her own “burgee” atop the studio to brighten things up and “make it not look too architecty,” she says. The siding was applied as a rainscreen to cut down on the chances of woodrot. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
The glass-and-aluminum front door, from Loewen, was salvaged from another project. The windows are all-weather double-glazed aluminum. The landscaping and new path, which reaches back to the main house, are by Berkeley-based Matt Hornby Garden Design. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
The southern wall, which has the most exposure and faces the California buckeye tree, is integral to the studio’s passive solar heating. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
Frodo relaxes before a wood detail inspired by the concrete corner of architect Steven Holl’s Chapel of Saint Ignatius at Seattle University. “I call it the woven corner,” says Deeds. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
The couple’s family and housemates celebrate the completion of the studio. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
Deeds used environmentally friendly wood stain and no-VOC paints for the exterior. “These are not the cheapest finishes, but honestly way more pleasant to work with than the traditional smelly stuff,” says Deeds. “I’ll have to report back on longevity and durability, but so far so good.” Image courtesy Deeds Design -
Embedded LED lighting allows the studio to glow at night. Image courtesy Deeds Design -
Inside, Deeds created a wall-to-wall sofa (supported by a square steel tube) with storage drawers underneath. A single shelf provides more storage. “The thick insulation and the passive solar features perform wonderfully,” says Deeds. “The building is very comfortable without supplemental heat. When it is too cold I warm up the room by turning on a few lights and my computer, and sometimes I bring a large dog inside or do ten jumping jacks to generate some heat. Because of the insulation, the heat sticks around.” Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
The opposite end of the structure has a low clearance of five-feet, nine inches to reduce exterior volume and accommodate the roof pitch above the desk, which is curved so people can more easily interact at meetings, as opposed to sitting in a line at a straight edge of a table. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
Deeds hung a single Louis Poulsen PH5 lamp from the ceiling; its blue and red interior paint “is very friendly to human skin tones,” she says. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez -
The floor plan. Image courtesy Deeds Design -
The section shows the simple, efficient interior elevation. Image courtesy Deeds Design -
The siteplan. Image courtesy Deeds Design -
McBride, breaking ground.Image courtesy Deeds Design -
The 30-percent Fly Ash foundation, with formwork and rebar. Image courtesy Deeds Design -
The framing goes up. Image courtesy Deeds Design
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