campos studio fits a tiny 'music shed' studio within a garden site

canadian architecture firm campos studio nests a tiny architectural solution within a confined site with its timber, light filled ‘music shed.’ the client — a family of four living in vancouver, canada — commissioned the residential addition to resolve new spatial requirements as their needs evolved and expanded. after a few years of occupying leftover and impractical spaces, the family sought out the design of a dedicated space to create music. while the main house occupies the lot’s maximum allowable area, the only way to legally introduce an addition is with an exempted structure measuring under 50 square feet.

all images by andrew latreille

with the design of the music shed, the team at campos studio is introduced with a challenging set of parameters. the project is defined as a small structure — inspiring, unobtrusive, and secure — nestled within a tight, wedge-shaped lot and programmed as a sanctuary dedicated to the creation and production of music. in order to generate a space which overcomes its tight footprint restraints, the design team expands the volume to occupy the most unusable space on the narrow site, generating an atypical footprint that is triangular in plan. the project is further expanded vertically, soaring upward toward a single skylight which floods the interior with natural daylight.

the intimate music shed by campos studio opens outward through sliding glass doors concealed by a secondary door finished in the shed’s uniform timber siding. in its closed condition, the project appears as a singular object, back-dropped by the lush garden, a secret music box. when opened, it becomes integrated into the garden, its deck transforms into a courtyard. built out of simple materials and standard construction techniques, the object provides a small but separate space. the studio offers its occupants a creative space withdrawn from the activity of the main house.