Platform 5: Shoffice

Shoffice (shed + office) is a garden pavilion containing a small office alongside garden storage space located at the back of a 1950’s terraced house in St John’s Wood.  

The project was a close collaboration between Platform 5 Architects, Morph Structures and the contractor Millimetre. The finished design is a fully glazed office, which nestles into an extruded American white oak elliptical shell that unfurls to form a small terrace in the lawn. The interior is also lined with American white oak and fitted with a cantilevered desk and storage. The structure is naturally lit by two skylights – one glazed above the desk and another open to the sky outside the office attracting light into the work space.

London based architects Platform 5 took their inspiration from a curled wood shaving. The curved exterior shell was formed in a stressed skin timber structure to keep the weight and foundations minimal and allow the structure to be prefabricated in a workshop and before assembly on site. The exterior fascia was fabricated in slim, steam bent strips to accentuate the spiral form of the leading edge of the building. The efficient structure achieved good insulation levels whilst maintaining the elegance of the design intent.

Shoffice, St John’s Wood, London
Program: pavilion
Architects: Platform 5 Architects
Structural Engineering: Morph Structures
Contractor: Millimetre
Completion: 2013