Weaving Studio

In the early 1970’s the designer was commissioned to design and build a small weaving studio on property located along the coast in Bolinas, California. The client was a weaving apprentice with his sister, who was living on rented property with her family. There was room on that property to place a small studio separated from the main house, and that is where she wanted the studio. It is designed in such a way that it could fairly easily be dismantled and moved elsewhere if necessary.

The floor plan is a unique irregular pentagon (encompassing about 170 square feet) placed on an extending deck that originally overlooked the ocean. There is a sleeping loft accessible by ladder and plenty of windows for light, views and ventilation. There is even a skylight over the loft to see the moon and stars at night. There are about a dozen wall and roof panels, each of which could be unbolted from the others, so it would be possible to dissemble the entire studio and place it on a flatbed truck to be transported. This plan has two different foundations shown: the one actually built with the extending deck build on piers and the other a standard continuous concrete foundation. Obviously, the original deck on piers can be transported, while the other couldn’t.

The original studio was built from lumber salvaged from an old redwood chicken coop. The plan specifies redwood throughout because that is what the original studio was built from. For the most part the redwood could be substituted with pine or fir that is sustainably harvested, or some other salvaged lumber.

Coastal California has a rather benign climate, not requiring a great deal of insulation, so this plan shows a unique wall system with several layers of exterior cladding over the basic frame. This is comprised of a sandwich of diagonal boards covered by tar paper, then aluminum foil (as a radiant heat barrier), more tar paper, then a final traditional board and batt treatment. This arrangement created a water and air tight wall that could withstand whatever the coastal winds threw at it. Even the roof was built this way, but these days metal roofing would likely last longer. A better insulated building could easily be created by adding insulation between the wall studs and sheathing the interior, as well as the roof. A small heater or wood stove would keep the space cozy all winter long. And the design also has a passive solar aspect if oriented properly; some additional thermal mass placed on the inside would help keep temperatures stable.

The studio that I built was eventually moved to another location before the land on which it stood was swallowed by the ocean.

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Downloadable PDF file of plans*	$100

*These plans include scaled and dimensioned foundation and floor plans, exploded framing details, and other significant construction details.
All digital files will be delivered via email attachments within 24 hours after purchase.

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