Local studio Atelier Janda Vanderghote has used simple materials to create the T(uin)Huis Atelier garden studio in Ghent, Belgium.

Although originally intended to be a woodworking studio, the building was designed to be flexible, currently acting as a temporary home for the owners while building work is carried out on their house.

The studio sits at the end of a garden and borders a plant-filled park that helped inform its design.

A rhythmic frame divides the facade

Aiming for simplicity, Atelier Janda Vanderghote created a cuboidal form for the structure, which features a rhythmic facade made up of copper-toned framing elements filled with glass.

"The simple and clear structural layering, together with the large window overlooking the garden and the view through to the park, creates a great sense of spaciousness," studio co-founder Indra Janda told Dezeen.

Inside, the garden studio has an open-plan arrangement and features a combination of living and working spaces.

Living and work spaces are provided in the open-plan interior

Around the edges of the space, white floor-to-ceiling curtains were used to conceal elements from the open room, including a built-in shelving unit that offers plenty of storage space.

"We designed an open & flexible plan, but also wanted to create a serene space, a place where it is pleasant to stay and where you can live on the rhythm of nature," said Janda.

A tree-shaped concrete structure supports the roof

Throughout T(uin)Huis Atelier, the studio aimed to use raw, textural materials including bricks and timber.

While some interior walls were coated in wooden panels, most walls of the garden studio were made from exposed brick, the lower portions of which have been painted white.

"We believe in honest materials that enter a dialogue with the existing greenery of the park and garden," said Janda. "The contradiction between roughness and refinement forms a tension to frame the whole."

Above the interior spaces, the building's hybrid structure has been left exposed, which comprises a large tree-shaped concrete structure that supports an additional network of timber beams.

"The main concrete structure extends like the branches of a tree over the floor plan and supports the wooden framework under the green canopy of the park and its surroundings," the studio explained.

A clerestory opening draws light into the interior

In addition to the glazed garden-facing facade, clerestory glazing on the opposite wall lets natural light into the studio.

Light-coloured furnishings and finishes, including beige armchairs and pale grey tiled floors, help to further brighten the space, while coloured pieces including a pale blue high chair and a multicoloured, striped rug add a pop of colour.

Additional accent pieces include a dark, olive-green kitchen island, which is echoed by a paler green sideboard.

Light-coloured furnishings brighten the space

Outside, Atelier Janda Vanderghote updated the existing garden, which is dropped slightly below the studio and slopes upward to meet the new building's paved plinth.

"The original garden of grass and fir trees is reorganised as a green extension of the park," the studio explained. "The plot is thus made as permeable as possible and will become even greener in the near future."

Other garden studios recently featured on Dezeen include a hempcrete and timber workspace by Commonbond Architects and a sunken music studio clad in scalloped charred timber.

The photography is by Johnny Umans.