Garage Conversion

SHED Architecture & Design transformed a garage built in the 1920’s into a studio apartment in Seattle.

Here is the project description:

The project began with a 30 square meter single car garage, built in the 1920’s, that was in an advanced state of decay and in need of a new foundation. Local codes would have prevented replacing it with a new building and so the decision was made to rehabilitate it. The overarching goal was to maximize the density and utility of the small 300 square meter lot and this was achieved by creating a studio apartment to generate income for the homeowners, a workshop and storage area in the new garage basement to serve the main house, and by adding terraces, paths, and steps to the backyard.

The garage, elevated above a sunken yard on wooden posts was in need of a new foundation. The building was jacked up so that a new basement could be excavated and built beneath it. The basement contains a mechanical room and a workshop and storage space for the main house. The excavated soil was used to create raised terraces in the back yard.

The principal objectives for the living space was to make the most of the small volume in terms of function, light, and space while retaining its charming character. The A compact core was inserted that contains a bathroom, refrigerator, oven, clothes closet, and steep stair to the sleeping loft above. The angled walls of the core, clad in horizontal fir planks salvaged from another project, and the ceiling to define the kitchenette and office within the larger space. The plane of the sleeping loft extends into the living space to form continuous shelves under the interior shelf to define the kitchenette.