Mill House and Makers’ Workshop – ADC

“Touch the Earth lightly,” said the late, great Australian architect Glenn Murcutt. His buildings did just that, employing a vernacular of lightweight materials – chiefly timber and corrugated sheet metal – that came together to produce architecture that was kind to the ground it rested on.

Beyond the land down under, this architectural language can also be found in Hampshire. It’s a nod to artist, researcher and scenographer Miriam Nabarro’s Australian heritage. Nabarro and her partner, Simon Quinn, a picture framer, commissioned London studio Cooke Fawcett to redevelop an old water mill found on the River Test. In addition to upgrading the property, the practice was asked to propose a new studio-workshop outbuilding as well, serving as a place where both clients could carry out their work.

Timber, zinc and Cladco corrugated roofing, a la Murcutt, have been employed throughout the project that sees the 17^th-Century Grade II listed mill future-proofed and carefully brought up to speed.

Ancillary modifications made to the mill over its history have been taken down to give spaces clarity and bring attention to the property’s original character, while the building’s plan has been reconfigured to maximise living spaces.

When peeling back the layers of the home, a bread oven, concealed behind a brick wall, was discovered. Now reinstated, it forms part of the home’s extension, linking to a new open-plan dining/sitting room found at the northeastern corner of the property which overlooks the garden and onto the new workshop and studio.

This extension and the new outbuilding make use of timber framing married with overhanging corrugate metal roofing. Sycamore – a native UK tree and low-carbon material – being chosen to clad the annexe. The wood has been heat treated and is expected to gradually weather, adopting the patina of the mature trees that ensconce the site.

Inside the new workshop-studio, meanwhile, can be found spaces for both Nabarro and Quinn to work on their respective crafts. Here, there are two, open and high-ceilinged volumes lined with plywood, offering flexibility for fixings and an accessible place to store tools. Each workspace has its own storage facility too, accessed through a pocket door which saves on space from door swings. The outbuilding also has a washroom, darkroom and shared main entrance – though each place of work has its own larger access point for deliveries; a large-scale wood processing unit occupies Quinn’s studio to aid his framing work.

Like the annexe, this addition has been clad with sycamore and makes use of a sloped sheet metal roof which delicately overhangs on the northern, eastern and southern sides of the building. This is most prominent on the former, creating a veranda made from weathered jarrah wood and acting as a shared outdoor working area.

“Designing the new workshop and studio space has been a fantastic opportunity to make something highly specific to both client and place.” Said Oliver Cooke, director at Cooke Fawcett. “The design evolved through a collaborative process of testing and iterating. It speaks directly to the fact that this is a now a place for both working and living – utilitarian, robust and flexible, whilst also contextual, attractive and uplifting.”

Miriam Nabarro, commissioning client, meanwhile commented: “the studio is a magical, light-filled space: immersed in nature, next to the river you are very aware of being surrounded by green. It is a brilliant space to dream up projects, where several processes and projects can co-exist in different stages. After years of renting draughty neglected studio spaces in Hackney it’s wonderful to be in a warm, light workspace where I can seamlessly move inside to outside.”

Simon Quinn, fellow commissioning client, also added: “The design process has been very collaborative and iterative as we’ve responded to discoveries on site. We now feel like custodians of the site and our building gives us a great facility in which to make new work which is also inspired by unique place.”