Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
Outbyte Driver Updater · freeOne free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.
Scan My Drivers Free →ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
Max Pritchard’s Tree Top Studio is a self-built, two-storey circular timber tower in the trees near Adelaide, Australia. It is a separate, private workspace beside the architect’s elevated glass-and-steel home—not an addition to the house or a commercial treehouse product. Its golden hoop-pine plywood skin, dark hardwood battens and carefully limited openings make the small building a useful study in how timber, finish and form can give a garden studio a character of its own.
What is Max Pritchard’s Tree Top Studio?
Tree Top Studio is a compact, cylindrical garden building designed by Adelaide architect Max Pritchard as his own studio. It stands on a wooded coastal slope beside Pritchard House, his family home: an elevated steel-and-glass pavilion completed in 1989. Rather than extend that house, which Pritchard describes as heritage-listed and iconic, he chose a distinct structure for his workspace. The architect’s project description calls it a two-level circular tower wrapped in golden plywood.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Recommended Free Tools
The studio is private residential architecture, not a product available to buy. It has a building area of 25 square metres, divided between two stacked circular rooms. ArchitectureAu describes each as a four-metre-diameter working space for one person; Habitus Living also gives the four-metre diameter. Those figures fit the published area: a four-metre circle has about 12.6 square metres of floor area, or roughly 25 square metres across two levels. A few press accounts give a three-metre diameter, but that figure conflicts with the professional area and floor-area breakdown, so four metres is the better-supported measurement.
The studio is in the Adelaide area, with Habitus Living naming Kingston Park. It sits among treetops with views toward the sea, but its character is more enclosed than the neighboring house. A timber-decked bridge reaches the upper level; a curved timber path leads back toward the house, while the lower level can also be reached from the slope.
Popular on Amazon
- Great Value Paint Brush Set: Soucolor 20 acrylic paint brushes come in 10 different sizes, making them ideal for fine detailing, model painting, rock painting, nail art, face painting, DIY crafts, and general art projects. The varied brush sizes give you better control for both delicate lines and broader color coverage, while the soft bristles deliver smooth, consistent results on acrylic, oil, watercolor, canvas, wood, ceramic, and more.
- Awesome Set of Paint brushes: Professional paint brushes can cover all of your needs. The multi-purposed brushes are ideal for Watercolor, Oil, Gouache, enamel, Acrylic Painting, Body, Nail, Face Painting, Miniature, Model, Wood, Glass, Cup, Ceramic, Fine work, Art class, Craft Art Painting, DIY Art Crafts etc.
- Soft and long-lasting: The bristles are soft and strong, with nickel metal ferrules and blue wooden handles. After cleaning, the bristles will become soft and fluffy again and will not fall off.
- Easy to clean: it’s very convenient to Wash well in soap and water. Retain shape after drying. the brushes hold up very well. Nice selection to beginners and professionals. Keep them clean and they last a long time.
- Perfect for All Painters & Occasions: Suitable for art beginners, hobbyists and professional artists. Great for art class, home creation, travel painting and DIY handmade projects. A practical art gift for students, teachers, family and craft lovers.
Why build a separate tower beside a glass house?
The two buildings make their relationship clear through contrast rather than imitation. Pritchard House is a light, linear pavilion on steel supports, with a largely glazed exterior and long coastal views. The studio is a compact timber cylinder, with a more controlled view through a tall strip of louvred glazing. ArchitectureAu critic Damian Madigan describes the tower as something deliberately “other” than the house: not a matching extension, but a personal piece of joinery set into the garden.
The site offered a practical reason to keep the work separate. Pritchard’s own project statement says he preferred a garden structure to a difficult addition to the elevated house. The slope also makes two-level access possible without forcing the studio to sit at the same height as the main rooms. Visitors cross a timber bridge to enter at the upper floor; the lower floor opens toward the hillside. From the street, Madigan says, the studio is invisible.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
That choice also gives the buildings different ways of engaging with the landscape. The house’s glass skin opens broadly to its setting. The studio’s openings are more selective: its full-height slatted window frames treetops and sea while retaining a sense of enclosure. Pritchard told Dezeen that he likes the enclosure of a circle and the contrast it creates with the virtually all-glass house. The resulting workspace is neither a miniature copy of the home nor a transparent lookout tower.
How do the timber, battens and finish shape the building?
Locally sourced hoop-pine plywood forms the studio’s most visible surface. ArchitectureAu’s material schedule specifies Australian Timbers hoop-pine plywood finished with Sikkens Cetol HLS on the internal and external walls. Dezeen describes the exterior as warm ochre, while the architect calls it golden. The finish gives the sheets a warm timber appearance without hiding their panel-based construction.
Dark hardwood battens cover the joints between plywood sheets and express the building’s timber frame. Outside, the vertical battens read as a regular rhythm across the curved walls. Inside, they connect visually with the exposed structure, including the radiating roof beams. Pritchard described the roof’s visible radial pattern as a feature he wanted to carry from the eaves into the room. After seeing how well it worked on the ceiling, he continued the motif across the floor.
Also popular on Amazon
- COMPLETE 5-PIECE BRUSH SET FOR EVERY PAINTING TASK — Includes 1 Inch Flat, 1.5 Inch Angle, 2 Inch Flat, 2 Inch Angle Stubby, and 2.5 Inch Angle brush giving you every size professional painters use daily. Get all 5 for less than the price of a single brush from hardware store brands — professional grade performance at a fraction of the cost. Perfect for walls, trim, cabinets, doors, furniture, and detailed cutting-in work on any project.
- ZERO BRISTLE LOSS — GUARANTEED BY PRECISION ADHESIVE BONDING — Every bristle is locked in place with precision-set adhesive that keeps them in the brush — not in your paint job. The coated steel ferrule provides structural support while the adhesive bond ensures clean performance on every stroke. Premium SRT synthetic filaments load more paint and release it evenly for a smooth streak-free finish on walls, ceilings, and trim. Works with latex, oil-based paint, primer, sealer, and wood stain.
- INCLUDES THE ANGLE STUBBY MOST SETS LEAVE OUT — Professional painters know the 2 Inch Angle Stubby is the go-to brush for tight cabinet interiors, window sashes, inside corners, and detailed trim where standard angle brushes are too long. Combined with the 1.5 and 2.5 inch angle sash brushes you have precision cutting-in covered at every scale — baseboards, crown molding, door casings, and ceiling lines.
- FLAT BRUSHES FOR BROAD SMOOTH COVERAGE ON ANY SURFACE — The 1 and 2 inch flat brushes deliver even coverage on walls, furniture, shelving, doors, fences, decks, and wood surfaces. Ideal for applying primers, stains, varnishes, polyurethane, and specialty coatings. Solid wood handles provide all-day comfort and control for both professional contractors and weekend DIY homeowners tackling interior or exterior painting projects.
- TRUSTED BY PROFESSIONAL PAINTERS AND CONTRACTORS NATIONWIDE — Pro Grade delivers professional-grade results at a price that makes sense for crews who go through brushes on every job. Ideal for property managers, remodeling contractors, apartment turnover crews, maintenance teams, and commercial painting operations. Backed by thousands of verified reviews from working painters. Washable and reusable for multiple projects.
The floor and roof therefore do more than close the building. Hardwood and plywood floor segments repeat the radial geometry overhead, making the construction pattern part of the interior. The upper floor is specified as hoop-pine plywood and hardwood with a Feast Watson clear finish. The lower floor is described in the Phoenix Space project entry as painted concrete. These are distinct surface treatments for different levels, rather than one continuous timber floor.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe built-in bookshelves and windows follow the same pattern of carefully fitted elements. The circular table is another piece of the project’s material logic: Pritchard designed and made it from offcuts, so it echoes the studio’s geometry while using leftover material. The curved plywood skin, chamfered roof edge and rounded table give the building a crafted quality, but the design is not simply a display of decorative timber. The battens also make panel joints and framing legible.
Other specified materials fill in the details. Curved acrylic sheets form windows in the plywood skin, and salvaged Naco louvres provide operable glazing. The doors are white cedar finished with Sikkens Cetol HLS. The roof uses fibre-cement and plywood with Crommelin brushable waterproofing. A steel-fencing infill balustrade with timber elements serves the bridge; ArchitectureAu’s schedule lists a Banksia balustrade from ARC Fences with a powder-coated finish. Lighting is listed as compact fluorescent.
These details matter if you are looking at the building through a painting or finishing lens. The plywood’s warm color, the hardwood’s darker lines and the clear-finished floor are separate visual decisions, not a single all-over coating. The available project records identify specified products and locations, but do not provide a complete application method, preparation schedule, coat count or maintenance cycle. They also do not establish that a particular finish caused a measured performance result. It is safer to treat the published finishes as project specifications, not as a ready-made coating recipe for another building.
How does the studio manage light and temperature?
The published design description says the studio has no artificial heating or cooling. Instead, it relies on natural ventilation, shade from the projecting roof and winter sun. Vertical banks of louvres allow airflow through the building in summer. A long, slatted window brings daylight and views into both levels, while the broad flat roof acts as a protective lid and shades the walls.
Also popular on Amazon
- 【All sizes of art brushes】: The 10 sizes of multi-functional brushes have various shapes, making the mixing color easier, which is very suitable for artists, students, teenagers, children and painters at all levels. Wonderful Present ideas for friends and family who like painting!
- 【general brush set】: Professional paint brush can meet all your needs. Multifunctional brush is very suitable for watercolor, oil, gouache, acrylic painting, body, nail, face painting, miniature, model, ceramics, arts and crafts painting, etc.
- 【high quality process】: It is designed with anti falling bristles, anti-rust nickel ferrule and solid wood handle. You can use the brush to focus on the painting and always be creative.
- 【easy to maintain】: After using the brush, it is very convenient to clean the brush with warm soapy water and reshape the tip of the brush. Air dry the brush and place it on top of the top for long use.
- 【100% satisfaction guarantee - buy now】1 packs of set brushes, you can also get friendly customer service, any questions feel free to contact us, within 24 hours to help you! There is no risk in buying our paint brush kit.
In winter, low-angle sun is intended to provide warmth. This is a passive strategy, not a published thermal-performance rating. The available project coverage does not give energy-use figures, a star rating, measured indoor temperatures or results from a thermal model. So it is fair to say the design avoids installed heating and cooling according to the project sources; it is not possible to infer a numerical energy saving or guarantee comfort in every weather condition from those descriptions alone.
The approach suits the project’s modest scale and coastal setting, but it is inseparable from the specific site, orientation and openings. The louvres are both windows and ventilation devices, while the roof overhang offers shade. The studio is not an airtight glass room like its neighbor, and its more enclosed walls limit the amount of glazing. Its environmental strategy follows from that different architectural brief.
Did Max Pritchard build the studio himself?
Yes. Pritchard undertook the construction himself except for electrical work, including the bespoke circular table. In his project statement, he connects the self-build to a belief that designers benefit from understanding how their designs are assembled. He told Habitus Living that he chose timber and plywood in part because he wanted to build the project himself and felt confident working with carpentry.
The construction was a long owner-builder project, not a quick prefabricated installation. ArchitectureAu records two months for design and documentation and 96 months for construction. Habitus Living reports that Pritchard started the structure about a decade before its completion, paused as his practice became busier, and eventually returned to finish it. The lengthy timeline helps explain why the work appears under different year labels in project listings and press coverage.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
The dates are not perfectly uniform. The architect’s portfolio labels the project “TREE TOP STUDIO 2013,” and some directories also use 2013. ArchitectureAu, ArchDaily and other publications identify it as completed in 2014, with substantial coverage appearing in 2015. The clearest description is that it was a long-running self-build, labelled 2013 by the architect and reported as complete around 2013–2014.
Also popular on Amazon
- 【KIDS PAINT BRUSHES SET】Anezus paint brushes for kids come with 10 pcs paint brushes of 5pcs round paintbrushes and 5 flat paint brushes with colorful handles, good for the young artist to explore their creativity in painting and crafting
- 【HIGH QUALITY PAINT BRUSHES FOR KIDS】These toddler paint brushes made of soft hog bristle, bright colored handles and rust proof ferrules. The bristles are firmly fixed in the kids paint brushes and no shedding. Each children paint brush measure 6 1/4 inches (16cm) in length and ferrules 1/2"(1.3cm) diameter, large enough for the little hand to grip and control
- 【WIDE APPLICATIONS】With combination of round and flat craft paint brushes for kids, work great with washable paint, tempera paint and acrylic paint. Great for arts and craft, rock, leather, gesso and ceramic, or body, nail and face art painting.
- 【EASY TO CLEAN 】After using paint brushes for acrylic, oil or watercolor painting, it’s very convenient to clean them with warm soapy water and reshape the paint brush tips. Keep these craft paint brushes clean and they last a long time.
- 【GREAT GIFT IDEA】Perfect for students, teens, kids, children and painters of all levels. Wonderful gift idea for girls, boys and kids who love painting! These all-purpose paint brushes for kids are ideal for kids' school projects, birthday parties, painting parties, art parties, back to school supplies, classroom decoration and more.
The self-build matters to the appearance as well as the story. The plywood and battens are not applied as a generic finish to a conventional box: their joints, framing and repeating pattern define the architecture. The circular table made from project offcuts extends that approach into the furnishings. Still, the available sources do not state a construction budget, so there is no reliable cost figure to use as a benchmark for a similar project.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is the studio’s most useful design lesson?
The studio shows how a small outbuilding can be designed around a specific relationship to its site and an existing home. It does not attempt to repeat the house’s elevated steel frame, linear plan or expansive glazing. Instead, it uses a round enclosed form, a timber skin and a bridge approach to mark the studio as a later, separate intervention.
For a reader interested in timber finishes, the key point is the coordination between material and detail. Hoop-pine plywood supplies the curved enclosure; battens cover sheet joints and make the frame visible; the radial floor and ceiling repeat the roof structure; and a warm exterior finish sets off darker hardwood. The arrangement makes the surfaces read as parts of a construction system rather than as decoration applied without reference to the structure.
That does not mean the building offers a universal specification for a backyard office. It is a one-off design on a wooded coastal slope, with a particular access arrangement, outlook and relationship to a nearby house. Its dimensions, circulation and passive strategy all depend on those conditions. The project is most useful as a case study in making a compact studio coherent: choose a distinct form, let the structure shape the interior, and use finishes to clarify how the materials meet.
ArchitectureAu’s project record and the architect’s portfolio page give the most useful specifications and project context. Habitus Living’s account adds the paused-and-resumed self-build story, while Dezeen’s coverage discusses the form, materials and the architect’s reasons for choosing a circular enclosure.
Also popular on Amazon
- 【162-Piece Bulk Set | Dual Brush System】Maximize versatility with 81 flat brushes (0.59 inch edge for bold strokes) and 81 round brushes (0.39 inch tips for details) – 3X more tools than standard kits! Pre-sorted in labeled compartments for instant access during painting sessions. Ideal for art classrooms, mural projects, and multi-artist households.
- 【Pro-Grade Durability | Zero Shedding Guarantee】 "Engineered with triple-crimped nylon bristles (43% higher resilience vs. standard) and aerospace aluminum ferrules tested for 10,000+ flex cycles. Lab-verified 0.01% shedding rate even with heavy impasto techniques – outperforms flimsy bristles in budget brushes."
- 【Multi-Scenario Readiness | Event & Daily Use】 Optimized for: Thanksgiving/Christmas face designs classroom projects ceramic decorating fabric printing and model painting; Lightweight plastic handles each reduce hand fatigue during prolonged sessions
- 【Effortless Maintenance | Long-Term Durability】 Clean with warm soapy water in 10 seconds; Reshape tips and air-dry vertically to preserve bristle integrity，After use, air-dry brushes thoroughly and store upright in the provided case to preserve bristle shape. The premium nylon filaments naturally regain their original form after each stroke. For cleaning, simply rinse in warm soapy water and gently reshape bristles with fingertips."
- 【Multiple Application】These acrylic paint brushes can be applied for most occasions,such as:watercolor,oil, gouache paint,face paint, acrylic paint, suitable for Thanks Giving Day, Christimas, Halloween face and body painting, canvas painting, fabric, rock, miniature, model, ceramics, arts and crafts painting, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who photographed Max Pritchard’s Tree Top Studio?
Sam Noonan is credited on the architect’s portfolio and across several of the major architecture publications covering the project. One brief Architecture & Design directory listing instead credits Sherise Fleming, so that listing does not match the wider set of project-photo credits.
Is Tree Top Studio open to visitors or available to rent?
The project is described as a private residential studio and the architect’s own workspace, not a public attraction or rental. The sources do not provide visitor hours, booking details or a public access program.
Is there a published cost for building Tree Top Studio?
No construction-cost figure appears in the project information summarized by the architecture publications. The long owner-builder schedule is documented, but it cannot be used to infer either a materials budget or the cost of a comparable studio.
Is Pritchard House officially heritage-listed?
The architect’s project statement and later coverage describe the 1989 house as heritage-listed. The project sources cited here do not give a South Australian Heritage Register identification number.
Quick Recap
