Completed in 2004, The Studio in Bethnal Green is an inventive conversion of an existing Victorian workshop into a contemporary living space. The tall, thin, dark sliver of a space was formerly an industrial shed wedged between existing buildings at ground floor level with windows on all sides at high level. The whole structure was separated from the street by a narrow courtyard passageway.

Threefold Architects’ challenge was to inventively reconfigure the internal layout to maximise natural light and space and stretch a limited budget to create a modern and innovative domestic space.

The response was a six metre high glazed slot and Double Height Entrance hall opening onto a private courtyard to draw as much daylight as possible into the internal spaces. A central spine wall separates an open floating plywood stair on one side and the passage to the snug bedroom and bathroom on the other. At first floor level open plan living, dining and kitchen spaces merge seamlessly into one another, unified by a nine metre run of storage units, which cantilever over the double height entrance. White painted walls allow the constantly shifting light conditions outside the building to dictate the mood of the space and the original distressed dark timber floor has been retained as a nod to the building’s industrial history.