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The Neighbor Out Back

comments (1) April 29th, 2009 in Blogs        
RDA Robyn Doyon-Aitken, producer
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A little home away from home. Tucked in a corner of the backyard, this 269-sq.-ft. studio apartment includes bed, bath, kitchen, and workspace. A glass canopy over the deck protects the entry and lets in light no matter what the weather. Photo taken at C on floor plan below.
Workspace/support space The center of the studio is dedicated to art projects, and the workspace can expand outward to include the front deck when the weather is good. Sleeping lofts over the kitchen and bath complete the plan.
Sleeping loft above, kitchen belowThe concrete floor is incised with control joints to resemble a “good luck” tatami-mat pattern. Operable windows over the workbench and the southfacing doors foster cross ventilation. Photo taken at A on floor plan.
A little home away from home. Tucked in a corner of the backyard, this 269-sq.-ft. studio apartment includes bed, bath, kitchen, and workspace. A glass canopy over the deck protects the entry and lets in light no matter what the weather. Photo taken at C on floor plan below.

A little home away from home.
Tucked in a corner of the backyard, this 269-sq.-ft. studio apartment includes bed, bath, kitchen, and workspace. A glass canopy over the deck protects the entry and lets in light no matter what the weather. Photo taken at C on floor plan below.

Photo: www.mikedeanphoto.com
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by Michael Fifield

Hanna Yoshimura is a Japanese artist who spends most of the year near Tokyo. When summer comes along, she returns to Eugene, Ore., where she owns a house that she rents out. Her tenants aren’t displaced when she returns, though. Hanna moves into this studio in the backyard to live and work while she’s here.

Workspace/support space
Workspace/support space
The center of the studio is dedicated to art projects, and the workspace can expand outward to include the front deck when the weather is good. Sleeping lofts over the kitchen and bath complete the plan. Drawing: Martha Garstang Hill


The shower is the room
At a compact 269 sq. ft. (including lofts), the studio apartment demanded a commodious design. An 11-ft. by 12-ft. workspace at the heart of the studio is bordered on each side by support spaces: a bathroom and a utility closet to the east, and a kitchen and a clothes closet to the west. The south wall is about half glass, with a pair of French doors that open onto a small deck. This garden connection, along with views of neighboring gardens from the kitchen and bath, extends sightlines and gives the studio a roomy feel.

The shower is the room (right) 
A handheld shower wand, waterproof finishes, and a floor drain turn the bathroom into a shower when the doors slide shut. Photo taken at B on floor plan.


Sleeping loft above, kitchen below
Sleeping loft above, kitchen below
The concrete floor is incised with control joints to resemble a “good luck” tatami-mat pattern. Operable windows over the workbench and the southfacing doors foster cross ventilation. Photo taken at A on floor plan.


In the summer, operable clerestory windows make it easy to take advantage of cooling breezes as they cross ventilate the studio in the evening. The exposed concrete floor provides a high-mass surface that takes on cool-breeze temperatures overnight, helping to moderate rising daytime temperatures.

—Michael Fifield is a principal in Fifield Architecture + Urban Design, and a professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Photos by mikedeanphoto.com.

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posted in: Blogs, architecture, deck, windows, floor plans, contemporary
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Comments (1)

jarchitect jarchitect writes: What a wonderful project! I love small, defined programs that allow playful approaches to design. This is a little gem and your ability to pack a lot into the small footprint and still have gobs of usable, light filled space is a true accomplishment.
Posted: 11:26 pm on April 7th

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