How They Pulled It Off: Floor-to-Ceiling Modular Shelving in a New Studio Extension
An architect makes her workspace "an extended outdoor room," complete with a wall of customizable plywood shelves that integrate a desk
An architect makes her workspace "an extended outdoor room," complete with a wall of customizable plywood shelves that integrate a desk
Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.
Architect Wakako Tokunaga was already a seasoned renovator in 2020 when the pandemic hit. In 2016, she updated her 1950s one-story brick rambler home in Tacoma Park, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. She enlarged it to accommodate her growing family of five and their daily needs by adding a second story. So when she needed to adapt her ways of working to, as she describes, "the rapid changes the world was hit with" in 2020, she decided to design and build an addition at the back of the property instead of committing to a costly and lengthy commercial lease.
Wakako, who founded her firm WAK TOK architects in 2007, thoughtfully determined the size of the studio by the extents of their neighbor’s house and the desire to avoid blocking out sun on their property or changing their view. She also considered the proportion of her studio space to the garden, filled with native plants that she and her family had personally planted; She was looking for the right balance that would accommodate her team working together while still leaving plenty of green space and seclusion in the yard.
The garden feels almost like an extension of the studio, especially when the sliding doors are opened up. "The design concept was centered around the native garden and the room with a set of glass doors that seamlessly opened up to it," Wakoko explains.
Photo by Jennifer Hughes
On the interior of the extension, materials were kept simple, straightforward, and functional; The floors are polished concrete, the walls and ceilings are clad in plywood, and the existing wall of the home was painted with milk paint, which is non-toxic.
Photo by Jennifer Hughes
One key element of the studio space was its ability to open up to the outdoors, which made it feel expansive and larger than its 350 square feet. Wakako sought "to create a space that opens completely as an open-air pavilion which seamlessly connects to the patio and the garden."
The studio is accessed from existing openings in the back facade. A sink tucked in the corner provides a place to wash up after being outside.
Photo by Jennifer Hughes
See the full story on Dwell.com: How They Pulled It Off: Floor-to-Ceiling Modular Shelving in a New Studio Extension
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