13/09/2012

Craven Road Studio by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects

I’ve literally gone around the houses today, as I searched for a dash of architecture that would remind us the value of great design. I found myself quickly fascinated by the work of Toronto based partners Shim-Sutcliffe who have created a great number of mesmerising, highly functional, sleek dwellings over the years. I was became in awe of two projects in particular that I was hoping to bring across to you here, after searching around however I realised that both their Integral and Raven Guest House had been documented quite heavily already. Then I stumbled upon this light trap of a studio that made all the digging around worthwhile, it’s understated simplicity is ideal for a workspace, a place perfect for clarity of thought and generating of ideas.

Tucked away off the side street this project was an additional dwelling added for a previous client, intentionally separated from the house to provide a space for isolation and study. With the studio being rather small and boxy the firm had to go to great lengths to ensure ample lighting would flood the room, they resolved this with an inventive system of narrow coffers surrounding the buildings perimeter. This ensured a soft stream of natural lighting without the glare through a direct window, the kind of ingenuity that you come to expect from Shim and Sutcliffe who have been designing together since 1989, just a year before I was born.

A collaborative effort between Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe, the partners have realised a dynamic design studio and a life around their shared passion for architecture, landscape and furniture. Their interest in the construction and fabrication of buildings, sites and their intersections has forced them to question fundamental relationships between object and ground, building and landscape, man and nature. Though their backgrounds and sensibilities are very different, their similar education and architectural journeys together offer a rich starting point for their work.

If you’ve not crossed paths with the duo’s work before I’d really recommend taking the click across to their website, also a short browse around Google to see the masterpieces they’ve created in the past is worthwhile. Lots of their buildings have a modernist type clarity to them which I’m sure many of you are really going to admire. Make sure you check out the two I mentioned above especially as these are breathtakingly good. In the meantime I’m going to see if I can get my hands on any of these books found within the Craven Road Studio, the Le Coubusier poster would look great in our studio here too. Enjoy.

www.shim-sutcliffe.com