Kristoffer Jul-Larsen and Synnøve Marie Vik, a Norwegian couple with two young children, had long dreamed of building a small shed to serve as an additional workspace in their garden in Bergen, Norway. Synnøve shared this dream with architect Cristian Stefanescu, founder of a-works, while they were developing a project for the cultural institution she worked for—and he jumped at the chance to be involved.

“We don’t do many private projects,” he says. “But, when we do, we try to create a situation where we can be more exploratory in response to the brief with the condition that we will maintain the budget. We also propose a discounted architectural fee if the client is willing to offer us more of a say in the design.”

$16,400

Groundwork & Foundation

$49,000

CLT & Roofing

$7,000

Aluminium Windows & Doors

$1,000

Stone Drilling

$5,000

Wood Burning Stove

$2,700

Electrical

$3,200

Architectural Fees

$6,500

Structural Engineering Fees

Grand Total: $90,800

The result is a tiny, 538-square-foot studio—Stefanescu says it’s “like a child’s drawing of a house”—that cantilevers out from a sloped site in the garden to perch atop a boulder. To reduce costs, the architect looked to utilitarian buildings and traditional holiday cabins in Norway. “We tried to keep the construction and material use simple,” he explains. “It is very matter-of-fact and everything is exposed and connected.”

The studio may hark back to the bare-bones construction of old Norwegian cabins, but it’s made from cross-laminated timber (CLT), a thoroughly contemporary material. a-works prefabricated CLT panels off-site to reduce construction time and cost, and the firm carefully crafted the junctions between various elements to elevate the utilitarian palette.

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“Most buildings are like a complex sandwich of elements—insulation, structure, cladding—but we just went with a simple wooden panel. There’s nothing on the outside and nothing on the inside,” says Stefanescu. “It offers a much more natural, breathable, healthy interior environment.”

Other elements lean more industrial—think corrugated aluminum roofing, aluminum window frames, and window ledge that doubles as a fire step. The large window at the end of the studio is an off-the-shelf part from a curtain wall facade system. Reimagining the function of these standard components not only gives the studio a unique character, but it was extremely cost effective. “As a practice, we try to creatively misuse materials and elements to cut costs,” says Stefanescu.

The simple, 43-foot-long building is anchored to the ground at one end and perches at a single point on a boulder at the other end with apparent ease—a flourish that a-works had to work closely with the structural engineer to realize. The placement and size of the openings is precisely engineered to suit the structure of the CLT panels. “It was a negotiation between spatial and structural needs,” explains Stefanescu. “I had to push really hard—luckily, I worked with a structural engineer with a degree of empathy!”

Inside, the space is laid out in a linear sequence without internal walls. The entrance is marked by a large overhang that creates a covered area for storing firewood. It leads directly to a narrow corridor that’s stained black to form a transitional zone between interior and exterior. “You pass through a portal that is completely dark,” says Stefanescu. “It’s like cleansing your palate.”

The large main area features a table and seating, with a solid wall that blocks off the street view and a sliding-glass door that opens to the lush garden. The next zone is a library, compressed with bookshelves on both sides and a dropped ceiling. This space leads to the reading zone at the end, which looks through the picture window out to another garden vista. “When you enter, you can look through the entire space to this window and out to a faraway mountainous landscape.”

“The space is very small, so it has the ability to be intimate, but it is also very open, bright, and generous,” says Stefanescu. “It’s why we didn’t create separate rooms, and had a single space that you move through.” While the studio is mostly used for work, it can also function as an extension of the garden for social gatherings.

The couple initially envisioned a smaller garden studio, but they opted for a larger space when they realized they could build up to 538 square feet (50 square meters) without needing planning permission so long as the structure was not intended for full-time living and met strict height regulations. If, in the future, they decide to rent the space out or use it as a guesthouse, there is a built-in storage space by the entrance that can be easily transformed into a bathroom.

“We try to experiment and do new things with every project we work on, and the open dialogue with these clients was amazing,” says Stefanescu. “We live in a world where things are often standardized, regulated, and controlled—but if the spaces we inhabit are standardized, we lose our ability to engage with new ideas. This project allowed us to engage with a normal, everyday family to create a bit of magic.”

More Budget Breakdown stories:

A Family Builds a Tiny ADU for $46K—and You Can Purchase the Plans

They DIYed a $212K ADU—and Loved It So Much That They Moved Right In

A Couple Build a Cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains for $150K—Without Borrowing a Cent

Project Credits:

Architect: a-works / @a_works_architecture

Builder: Øystein Boge AS

Structural Engineer: Blackwell Structural Engineers

Groundworks: Fana Maskin AS

Electrician: Twå Elektro AS

Photographer: Helge Skodvin / @hskodvin

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Budget Breakdown: In Norway, a $91K Garden Studio Teeters Atop a Boulder