Outbuilding Home Office & Workshop

Case study

A home office and annex, raised over an existing workshop.

This project adds a first-floor home office and residential annex above an existing garage and workshop at Wivelrod, in rural Hampshire. Rather than build anew, the design makes more of what was already on the site, adding storey and purpose without expanding the building's footprint.

The new floor is characterised by Crittall-style glazing and an expressed green oak frame: a crisp, contemporary pairing of steel and timber that gives the outbuilding a clear identity while keeping it subordinate to the main house. Completed in 2024.

Considered, consentable design

Adding habitable accommodation to an outbuilding in the countryside raises questions of scale, use and amenity. Holding the planning in-house, we resolved those early, keeping the addition proportionate and designing it to read as a natural enhancement of the existing structure.