NATURAL HABITAT

In both her home and her new studio, Es Devlin has conjured up artistic havens where greenery flourishes and the imagination runs free.

- Charlotte Brook

From a shady glade towards the back of Es Devlin's meadowlike garden, I admire the handsome red-brick Victorian house where the artist and stage designer lives with her husband and two children, which also contains her studio. It feels incongruous that this suburban idyll in north Dulwich has produced some of the most jaw-dropping big-budget sets in modern history-from the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony to Lady Gaga's tours and last year's Super Bowl half-time show-as well as Devlin's own independent art installations. All are created with her team, who occupy a white room at the front of the property, lined with books, maquettes and pencil drawings. Mirrored double doors demarcate the personal and the professional parts of the house, although they are often open; in the family kitchen, the studio's cook is putting the finishing touches to staff lunch. The designer soon joins me outdoors, apologising for having been held up on a marathon Zoom call and delighting in the fresh air. "Oh, look, here's a bluetit joining us," she says, greeting the bird with a smile. "Right, let's eat and talk."