'We chose to work with Skein because of their extensive experience and work across the cultural and arts-related industries, and specialised understanding of working artist studios and galleries. James and Steve are such great people to work with, and they consistently showed care and respect for our project in every step of the design, approval and construction process.
Their site and brief specific response has created a high quality purpose-built art and music studio, which seamlessly connects with our home and the natural environment in its surroundings.
A major feature in the design has been the thoughtfully placed windows that frame the gardens and bring nature into the creative space. While the retractable bar window opens up and links to the outdoor entertaining deck, acting as both a servery and a social connection point where music, art, food and wine, and listening to vinyl records all come together.
With the expertise and guidance from Skein along with our builder Eichner Constructions, we have managed to achieve all our goals for this project and we can't thank you enough for all you have done.'.
Kara (paper artist) and AJ (musician) - owners.
Photos: leah_sunday_
Fibre and Chord is an art and music studio, set into a steep, heavily vegetated site in the Adelaide Hills, conceived as a place to focus and make work—a retreat of sorts—while still feeling connected to its surroundings. The building is nestled into the land, tucking in to the slope rather than sitting on top of it, so the existing terrain and native vegetation remain the defining features of the site.
Because the area is prone to bushfire, siting the studio was a key part of the design process. Carefully considered setbacks, access, and defendable space resulted in placing the studio in close proximity to the existing house while maintaining a defendable distance from both the dwelling and surrounding vegetation. Material and construction choices were guided by bushfire requirements, but the aim was always to balance safety with a calm, well-crafted architectural outcome.
The internal layout was developed in close collaboration with the client to support both visual art and music-making. These uses come with different spatial and acoustic needs, so the challenge was to accommodate both without fragmenting the space. The result is a studio that feels cohesive and easy to move around and one that can be reconfigured in multiple ways to support different creative set-ups.
Architecture: Skein
Engineering: Magryn
Construction: Eichner Constructions