Artist's studio by De Rijke Marsh Morgan

The majority of new developments in Deptford tend to be largely untroubled by any quality architectural intervention. Of course some of our buildings such as the Laban Centre and Deptford Lounge/Tidemill Academy could be argued to be the exception to this rule, but you only have to glance as far as most of Creek Road (in particular the abhorrent Creekside Village), the Seager Distillery, Resolution Way studios and Paynes & Borthwick Wharf to get my drift. Convoys Wharf and other forthcoming developments show no sign of bucking this trend.

But scattered among the detritus that the planners allow to be washed up on the shores of our conservation zone, there's occasionally something to provoke discussion and debate. The latest addition could well prove to be the Marmite of local architecture.

A new artist's studio, designed by De Rijke Marsh Morgan Architects, has just been revealed at the southern end of Comet Street. I suspect its form and function will provoke much discussion, although its location means it may not be seen by a very large audience - you really do have to seek it out.

Its unusual purpose - an artist's studio and nothing more - and appearance - a big asymmetric black box with enormous north-facing roof light and no other windows, looking for all the world like it has just been beamed down into the grubby backstreets of Deptford - mark it out as something a bit different from the multi-coloured cheap-and-not-at-all-cheerful blocks that are springing up in every other space around here. Whether it's different in a good way or not will be open to debate.

The structure is distinctive on a number of levels - firstly it must be some time since Deptford played host to an artist with sufficient income to enable them to commission and build a new building which will serve only as a studio.

The north-facing rooflight is created using the same material as forms the roof of the Eden Project - a special polymer known as Texlon, formed into thin 'cushions' which can be inflated to create a larger area of unsupported roof than with normal glazing or cladding material.

Its asymmetric form includes a lower corner on the north west, intended to minimise the loss of daylight experienced by its neighbour, one of the four terraced houses remaining on Speedwell Street. As well as its odd shape, the building's black cladding and lack of any other windows give it a distinctly other-worldly appearance. Black may prove to be an unfortunate choice of colour, given the number of large birds around here - in particular the herring gull that can often be seen begging for scraps outside the high street fish shops. The fourth photo shows the result of a direct hit by one of our feathered friends, let's hope the cladding is self-cleaning.