invisible studio designs hotel gym as a window overlooking a productive garden

invisible studio, the architecture practice led by piers taylor, has built a gymnasium for a hotel in the english county of somerset — using one of the world’s largest glass panels in the process. named ‘room in a productive garden’, the gym takes the place of an orangery or greenhouse — of which there are several in the site’s adjacent courtyards. historically, these structures filled an entire north wall of a contained vegetable garden.

all images by jim stephenson

commissioned by the newt, a hotel in the grounds of somerset’s hadspen house, the 150 square meter structure (1,615 square feet) was conceived by invisible studio as more of a window than a building. internally, the gym is lined entirely in beech, with all services including lighting and ventilation concealed between the slats. the large window, measuring 15 meters in width (49ft) and 3.3 meters (11ft) in height, provides encompassing views of the garden with a minimum of distractions.

the productive garden not only provides food for the hotel, but is also an important part of the arrival experience into the gymnasium. the glass window forms a bay with glass sides, top, and seat that frames the immersive bucolic views. the external façade comprises stone sourced from the site, which was crushed and ‘rammed’ into the facing material. see designboom’s previous coverage of invisible studio’s work here.

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architects: invisible studio
project architects: piers taylor & tara breen
structure: hydrock/tim macfarlane
M&E: E3
contractor: ken biggs
glass contractor: cantifix ltd
photography: james stephenson