The 2010 Porch Shed Design Competition

Welcome to the Porch Shed Design Competition our third so far!

June 2010 - Winners announced!

As usual we have some great prizes, the three top prize winners receive:

An Apple Ipod Nano

and

A copy of Alex Johnsons New Book Shedworking the Alternative Workplace Revolution

and of course

A featured slot on secrets-of shed-building.com which with in excess of 2,000 visitors per day is the place for your shed design to be seen!

The aim of this competition is to come up with some great shed designs and have fun at the same time!

This competition is run with the support of two other organisations:

LP Smartside is the leading brand of shed siding (that looks great on houses too!)

Alex Johnson of shedworking.co.uk has kindly helped with the judging of this competition and the supply of a copy or two of his new book Shedworking the Alternative Workplace Revolution.

What is a Porch Shed and what is the design brief?

A porch, balcony, verandah or deck at the entrance to a shed forms the transition between the garden and the interior space. In the winter months it is a spot to get shelter from the rain while you fumble for your keys, in the summer months it becomes a glorious place to sit outside enjoying the garden or lazing in your hammock with a long cool drink.

Porch designs come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes so use your imagination to come up with the ultimate porch for a shed, it may be a simple classic design or a complete wrap around, it could be very clean lines or richly decorated the choice is yours.

This sketch is my very first simple attempt.. I know you can do better!

To submit your entry just follow these three easy steps:

1. Create your Porch Shed Design shed using the design brief above.

This could be using easy to use computer software such as Sketchup which was the method used by Kenny Van Den Berghe to produce to the winner in our 2009 competition.

Use traditional drawing materials which was the choice made by Anna-Marie Buss the winner of the competition in 2008.

Or some other method!

2. Tell us a bit about how you reached your design decisions

In an international competiton such as this there will entries from temperate climates such as the UK as well entries in locations of extreme heat and cold.

Tell the judges in as many words as you need how the porch will benefit the shed in terms of visual appeal and functionality.

Some basic hints on shed design are here.

3. Thejudging for the prize will be in two stages:

Stage One:

Once your entry has been accepted e-mail your friends, workmates and relations and get them to comment on your entry to give support and encouragement. The number of comments will be one of many factors in the judges deliberations.

Stage Two

The competition will close for entries on 15th May 2010 giving the three judges just over 2 weeks to decide on the 3 winners. The results of their deliberations will be announced on the 3rd of June 2010 to coincide with the launch of the New Shedworking book.

The judges are:

Justin Anthony of Materialicious.com

Su Butcher of Architect Barefoot and Gilles

James Alexander Sinclair - Garden designer and writer for BBC Gardeners World

The prizes

The three winning designs will all receive :

An Ipod Nano 8Gb thanks to our friends at LP Smartside.

A signed copy of Alex Johnsons new book Shedworking - The Alternative Workplace Revolution complete with personalised 'shed doodle' by Alex inside the front cover.

The rules of the competition are here.

The Contenders.....

Part of the judging for this competition is based on what YOU the reader have to say. Make your comments and suggestions on the designs after clicking on the links below.

A Shed by the Stream
A shed covered by an overarching curve that pays tribute to the meandering stream along whose banks it calls home. The shed serves a studio or study

A Morphing Shed
A shed that morphs from an artists studio to a place to gather to a study or simply a place to entertain. How? The porch for the shed can be moved or

WATER|Shed
WATER|Shed is attempting to do three things: - To foster a contemporary love of urban organic farming - To Capture, Conserve and Utilize rainwater in

Rear Yard Oasis
REAR YARD OASIS IS A LOW TECH. CONSTRUCTION SHED THAT ENABLES THE USER TO ADJUST VARIOUS DEGREES OF LIGHT PENETRATION THROUGH THE REMOVABLE ROOFTOP MEMBERS.

Green Thumb Gateway
The Green Thumb Gateway Shed creates a private entrance to the owners shed and workspace while being surrounded by a living garden. The outer wall is

leisure space shed
It's a 18 sq.mt portable and green shed designed to spend the leisure watching T.V,to have drink,lounging,reading etc. As I belong to Bhopal I designed

The Portic-Shed
The shed is a play area for children and/or quiet area for adults. It is made of timber, with 4 pairs of portic and curvy timber walls. Two areas, indoor

Indoor-Outdoor-Relaxation Shed
This shed is raised 2 ft 3 in above ground on an elevated deck. The deck wraps around the shed and can be used for seating, reclining, as well as a table.

Urban Rancher Shed
The Urban Rancher is a striking, cost effective, comfortable, energy efficient building to be used as a guest room, cabana, office or studio space. It

Shed of Tranquility
My shed has a pond and ramp leading up to the space! Email address: nicolabenson (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk

Home/Office on the Range
The Home/Office on the Range is a shed porch design that highlights the dramatic beauty of the West Texas Plains while protecting its inhabitants from

Pleasant Porch Shed
Creating a pleasant place This Porch shed is designed with the idea to create a pleasant place where people want to stay and interact with. To create

The Serender Shed
The serender shed is a piece of next to nature primitive formation that has been lifted 2 meters above the ground to make it more breezy and be isolated

GROW YOUR SHED!
Why shouldn’t all sheds have the capacity to grow like our gardens? Perhaps the function of our shed changes from a storage space to a studio or from a

Branched
Natural light is the essence of this shed. It’s manipulated in various ways as it passes through layers of tree branches, glass and translucent panels.

A Place in the Shade
This shed is all about its relationship with its environment. The adjustable louvre panels to the front elevation can be tilted to give shade from the

Plant and Play Shed
The Plant and Play Shed cultivates family interaction by incorporating the functions of a porch shed and a playground component for children. The basic

Beany's Little Studio
My design is for a small 96sq foot studio with an attached 48sq ft covered porch. The construction will be post-and-beam on a concrete footing. The

Art shed pt.2
The idea is to make a shed that's not boring but rather inspiring. This is part 2 of the art shed from the competition last year.

My Garden Shelter
The whole idea of creating a porch shed was the way of how it will suit and remelt within the garden, suit the main function (sheltering) and become one

Modern Shed Office
The Modern Shed Office is designed as an alternate space to work and study. I wanted to retain a visual connection to the outside as well as create exterior

zen shed
THE DESIGN PROCESS BEGAN BY DISTILLING THE KEY SUCCESSES OF THE SHED AS A BUILDING FORM, AS I SEE THEM. - ITS ABILITY TO: INSULATE THE OCCUPANT(S).

GARDEN OFFICE SHED
GARDEN OFFICE DESIGN: The interplay between solid and transparent wall and roof elements and the warmth of timber cladding combine to form a new garden

Touched by the Sea
My shed is a hide-away on the edge of the shore a simple 3,3x3,3 design in wood, with a porch wrapped around its entire volume, opening up for light to

Shiff Shed
This porch shed design is located in Toronto, Canada, where Victorian Architecture is the traditional design. The shed incorporates Victorian elements,

Pod-Shed
The Pod-Shed is a contemporary space that is unlike other sheds. It can be used as many different uses including a quiet retreat from the pressures and

The BOSH Shed
Inspired by the work of Buckminster Fuller, the Winnebago and newspaper kiosks by the Seine in Paris, BOSH brings kinetic design to the allotment. By

Studio in the Garden
Objective: To create an all weather work space that can be completely opened up to the integrated exterior spaces. Design Overview: The largest portion

Yonderosa Outpost
I designed and I'm building my shed/outpost on some property we own in a remote part of the Northwestern United States. It needed to be small and simple

Glass Porch Shed
I decided to do something a little unusual and enclose the porch with sliding panels so the owner could have the option to use the porch as an additional

Clear Deck
This shed provides a storage area for garden tools and a covered deck to take a break from work on the garden, enjoy free time or entertain guests. The

Old wood turns new Shed.
I've made this design considering old/used wood to provide walls and some sustainability to the design concept. The idea is to re-use the wood to build

Blue porch shed
It has a back drive in door with a wide front door for easy access, it has plenty of windows for light and so you have the ability to air it out easy,

Gardener's Workshop Not rated yet
My shed is a small, simple, and useful space for a gardener. A shed that can house materials and tools as well as provide solar energy and captured water

THE PANORAMIC SHED Not rated yet
The shed is designed to allow use of the porch in any season. Enjoying the all weather types without any of the side adverse effects.

SHADED NEST... Not rated yet
THESE DESIGN INSPIRED BY BIRD NEST....HUMAN LIKE A BIRDS.. AND SHED LIKE NEST. IN THESE DESIGN I'M USING MAIN FEATURE OF The SHED IS FINNS.. I'M ALSO PROVIDING

Evolutionary Shed Not rated yet
I have always thought that a shed should be developed as a garden grows and be able to change with time in how it is used. My idea starts with a wood

back yard gazebo Not rated yet
A long body gazebo with semi-enclosed seating area to accommodate large groups. Padded bench style seating on three sides, with open center for easy conversation

12'x12' Squire Not rated yet
This Shed has a 4' porch with eave side entry.The pitch of the roof is 5/12.It has 7' sidewalls and the overall height is 11'. The Squire's beauty comes