32. Sugar House Studios

With a cheerful facade that appears like a cross between a scaly aardvark and pastel tuck shop sweets, the Yardhouse studios peek up in a mostly grey industrial estate in Stratford. A prototype for low cost, flexible creative workshops, Creative Assemble constructed Yard house in eight weeks from a simple timber post and beam structure and an off the shelf cladding system. The plan is 12x12m based on the standard lengths of the construction materials. It creates an almost chapel like space inside, with a double height atrium flanked by 16 smaller studios on the ground and first floor. The bright and airy central atrium provides a space for the occupants to interact with each other and can accommodate chairs and tables for communal dining. The colourful facade that fronts the yard was constructed from concrete tiles in shingle formation. The scaly pastel patina of the facade wasn’t designed intentionally but reflects the different batches and the person doing the dying at the time. This gives the building a unique identity, reflecting the optimistic spirit of making and creative energy that the project and Assemble represent.

https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects/yardhouse