A bespoke artist studio for a sculptor and printmaker in New Cross, South East London, CAN’s design addresses contrasting functional needs along a compact industrial mews.

To accommodate the sculptor's requirement for a large, light-filled workshop alongside the printmaker's need for a dark, UV-controlled environment, the project is conceived as two distinct, adjoining volumes: an industrial steel-and-block workshop and a compact, tiled domestic studio.

The gabled forms draw inspiration from local industrial sheds and an 18th-century wash-house that once occupied the site, featuring ornamental double crow-step gables and offset volumes that form a sunlit rear working yard. Built on a strict budget, the open-plan interior maximizes natural light using a blend of reclaimed studio materials and low-cost industrial elements, including a exposed scaffolding roof structure and a sculptural central module housing the bathroom. Contemporary workspace design, low-cost artist studio, and industrial infill architecture by CAN studio.

The project won an RIBA London Award and was a finalist in the Architects’ Journal Small Project Award, the NLA Awards for workspace and the Blueprint Awards. It was featured in Archaic Mag, Divisare, Architecture Today and Domus.

Photography by Andy Stagg