SMARTPLY OSB3 was chosen to create a bespoke, timber frame photographic studio set deep in the Sussex countryside. Timber that was FSC-certified and offered strength, durability, and consistent quality was essential. SMARTPLY OSB3 met the brief.

Located in the village of Warninglid in West Sussex, the studio has been built by specialist timber frame contractor Benjamin Allen Homes. For the creation of the external walls and an internal load bearing wall for the barn-style building, Benjamin Allen Homes, chose SMARTPLY OSB3, an engineered OSB (Oriented Strand Board). Offering exceptional strength, it provided a rigid structural base for the timber-treated cladding which was chosen to provide the studio an attractive, weather-resistant façade, in keeping with its rural surrounding.

Meeting the client and contractors brief for low environmental impact and high performance, SMARTPLY OSB has provided a reliable, high quality structural core to ensure the studio’s long-term efficiency as a hive of creative activity and helping it sit in picture perfect harmony in its rural Sussex location.

Allen Dawson, Managing Director of Benjamin Allen Homes, commented: “We are really impressed with SMARTPLY OSB3. Its inherent strength provides superb racking ability and it is incredibly easy to handle on site. It is also readily available and we have found that performs well in all conditions. For these reasons we use it on virtually all of our projects”