Award-winning interior architect Marta Nowicka at DOMstay has designed a new studio for her home in E.Sussex. The studio echoes the landscape's topography as the structure's design mirrors the seawall, creating a parabolic curve. 

“The sloping wall of the studio structure from the roof to the deck forms an excellent backrest while sunbathing, as well as an efficient windbreak for the occasional 80 mph winds. The low height forms a walk-on-me-structure, very much like a boat,” says Marta.

The studio, built on a 43-square-meter plot, is entirely made from recycled/ upcycled materials. Hollow concrete blocks were sourced from leftover building site materials, hence the colour contrast of brick types, and pebbles from the driveway were repurposed onto the roof to create a porous finish and help create another layer of insulation. An 8-meter-long I-beam created the structure for the joists of the sloping roof, which was clad in recycled boards sourced from a local scaffolder. The same boards were also used for the shelving and architraves for the interior.

Savolit Wood Wool Boards, consisting of wood fibres bonded into panels, were used as a natural alternative to plasterboard with enhanced acoustic and insulation properties. As the structure is set out at an angle, it creates a natural arising curve, meaning that the scaffold boards had to be planed down to be sufficiently flexible to follow the curvature, resembling the bow of a boat.

Inside, the studio houses archival storage along the straight wall and a wood burner for cold winter days. The space leads into an infrared sauna, clad in reclaimed cedarwood, and a small wet room with an electric shower. A horizontal window frames a panoramic scene over the adjacent field, leading to a view of Dungeness, while Velux windows enhance the space further with changing toplight.

Year of Completion: 2025

43 sq metres
Architectural design studio with archival storage, infrared sauna, wet room, wood burner, and rooftop deck.

Constructed entirely from reclaimed and recycled materials.