Home Tours

Q&A with Richard Naish of RTA Studio

Article by Homes to Love

Richard Naish gets back to basics with a rustic red getaway shed

With land becoming more expensive, are you getting more proposals for utilitarian houses on tight budgets?
Not too many, actually. We tend to say no if the budget’s too small, but there was just something about this one. It wasn’t about profitability, it was about an opportunity to do something exciting. It was the idea that the client wanted to really push the utilitarian, austere aesthetic. Every now and then you’ve got to prove to yourself that you can design cost-effective small buildings that aren’t necessarily for the rich and famous.

When you take on a tight-budget job, is there an expectation you’ll have more creative control than you might otherwise?
What attracts us to projects are ones that build on our body of work. We’ve got an interest in buildings that have a relevant contextual relationship – whether it’s urban, rural, coastal, or future-focused – so if a project is an opportunity for us to build on our thinking or add another string to our bow in the direction that we’re heading, then we’ll jump at it. And this one did. It’s not every day that someone comes to you with a quirky idea and an intelligent approach to achieving it.

Words by: Henry Oliver
Photography by: Patrick Reynolds

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