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BRIXTON STUDIO HOMEThe Studio-Home, a collection of buildings and flexible in-between
spaces, presents a strategy to economise and derive value from a living
/ working environment.
The project marks the latest conversion of a set of buildings, which have
undergone a continuous process of physical change and re-purposing over
the past 100 years – from corner shop to cooking school to student
commune and now to architects’ residence and office. Sited in a
centrally located, demographically and functionally diverse suburb, the
spaces are cross-programmed with work, living and rental functions, generating
income and eliminating the inefficiency of commuting in a megalopolis.
In order to conserve a very tight budget, the existing structures were
harvested by re-using and reconfiguring existing materials and elements.
In this way the altered complex enters into dialogue with its own history
but also its immediate surroundings through the geometry of the new pitched
roof and corrugated southern wall monumentalising the material of Johannesburg’s
early mining days. A ‘floating’ balcony provides scale and
threshold similar to the Victorian veranda once ubiquitous in the area.
By capturing the intense Highveld light and framing views of distant horizons
and landmarks, the arrangement affords a distinctly Johannesburg living
experience. Project team: Thorsten Deckler, Anne Graupner, Lara Wilson, Nzinga Mboub, Shameema Davids, Thulani Rachia, Alex Howell, Guy Trangos, Stephen Reid Featured in Backstage Architecture Award www.backstage-architecture.org Photographed by Nic Huisman
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