Situated on the side of a 1950’s terraced house in St. John’s Wood, in London, UK, the Shoffice is a garden pavilion encompassing a small-scale office, which is surrounded by a garden storage area. The structure was designed by Platform 5 Architects, with the aim of incorporating the office as an organic entity that effortlessly runs into the garden space. Combining the words shed and office (Shoffice), the architects came up with a construction, of a highly unusual shape and form and an earthy, sculptural look.
Mostly prefabricated, to avoid the excessive amount of material required to be transferred through the house, the Shoffice, is a light weight structure consisting of two steel ring beams supporting the extruded timber elliptical shell, which houses the glazed office space. Its timber ribs and plywood skin, as well as its extraordinary form, create the organic image of a wood shaving that forms a small terrace in the lawn. Interior wise, the oak lined space contains a cantilevered desk and storage space, which are illuminated by two roof lights that allow the workspace to stand out, without eliminating the element of practicality.
