Stories On Design // Barn House Conversions.

Today’s story about Barn House Conversions is part romantic and personal, part celebration of adaptive reuse and architectural ingenuity. Why romantic and personal, Dana? Have you lived in a barn house before? Of course not. It’s just that barn-houses very much remind me of my childhood, and houses in which my grandparents used to live, and some of my uncles and aunties still do. I’ve grown up knowing so many barns (ambari in Serbian) looking like a “before shot”, so seeing ultra sharp, modern examples married with traditional rural settings is incredibly heart warming for me.

I love the fact that despite their rural settings, there ain’t nothin’ remotely “agricultural” about these buildings. No sir! It is this contrast and, dare I say, juxtaposition (don’t throw shit at me for occasionally using archi-wank talk, please) that I find incredibly appealing. Not only this – some of these original structures have been abandoned for years and on the brink of ruin before being brought back to life and made relevant today.

In most cases, the old barns find themselves in a symbiotic relationship with the new additions that, in turn, they receive some of the old building’s DNA. Instead of being discarded, these places begin a new chapter by developing a new identity. And that’s something definitely worth celebrating.

See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.

Photography by Hertha Hurnaus, courtesy of propeller z.

Barn House by Propeller Z // Ok, can I just say wow. And I mean WOW!! I’m kind of speechless here actually. This project completely blew me away. In fact I’ve been looking at it for over a week before I got around to writing about it. I just had to savour it for a little bit. I can’t even begin to explain how much this setting reminds me of my childhood and houses where my grandparents and my uncles, aunties and cousins used to live, and some of them still do. It makes me feel all emotional and crazy nostalgic in fact. To see this ultra sharp, modern architectural pavilion married to a traditional rural setting is simply mind blowing to me. It’s as though a UFO has landed, and I’m waiting for E.T. to come out and play.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Ioana Marinescu & Will Pryce.

Stable Acre by David Kohn Architects // Situated on the edge of an isolated farm in rural Norfolk in England, this house was built within the ruins of a 19th century stable block. It was designed by David Kohn Architects for London gallerist Stuart Shave, and features a beautifully edited palette of materials such as painted brick walls, concrete floors, profiled metal roof, steel-frame glazing and oak wall cladding. I am in love with a sense of balance achieved in this interior – clean lines, pure geometry and perfect proportions offset against the rough texture of brick walls and timber panelling.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Arjan Benning.

Farmhouse Pingjum by Studio INAMATT // In the flatlands of the north-eastern province of Friesland, INAMATT transformed a 19^th century farmhouse into a generous space for living and working. The classical Frisian head – neck – rump construction of the farm comprises of three parts, where the head is the living area that has a block like shape and the lengthy kitchen area is placed in front of the cattle shed also known as rump.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Keith Colli.

Ancient Party Barn by Liddicoat & Goldhill // Designed by Liddicoat & Goldhill, the sheer scale and playful mechanics of this award-winning project are seriously impressive. Liddicoat & Goldhill were commissioned by private clients to remodel the derelict barn in UK’s Kent province, with the brief to convert it into a home with a focus on materiality, atmosphere and a creative re-use of the existing volumes. Industrial-scale moveable mechanisms were installed, giving the clients free reign to control views, light, air flow and privacy, depending on the weather, time of day and activities. The home features an American-style aircraft hangar door that can concertina upwards, simultaneously flooding the home with natural light and creating a canopy over the dining terrace.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Images courtesy of ÁBATON.

Estate In Extremadura by Ábaton Arquitectura in Spain // When Carlos Alonso and his sister Camino were looking for a country home for their extended family, they stumbled upon an abandoned stable in rural Extremadura in Spain and recognised it as a special place. High on a hill and far from city water or an electrical grid, the crumbling cow shed was far from the conventional image of luxury estate, but Carlos and Camino run the prestigious Madrid architecture firm Ábaton Architecture and could envision a transformation. The result is nothing short of breathtaking.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by James Brittain.

Shadow House by Jonathan Tuckey // From the street, there is no trace of the Shadow House which tucks neatly behind the gable roof and high walls of the Wiltshire Chapel family home. Clad in blackened larch timber, the new extension differs wildly from the original classic frontage but doesn’t feel like an imposing presence. Internally, the original brown timbers marry nicely with bold black elements and it feels cohesive and full of character. Connected by a glass passageway, the front volume contains the living spaces, kitchen and mezzanine gallery while the new structure houses all of the bedrooms and bathroom.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Vladimir Sretenović & Mina Piščević.

Terra Panonica by Studio AUTORI // Terra Panonica is a cultural and tourist complex located in the sleepy village of Mokrin in north-east Serbia, in the province of Vojvodina. The project consists of five houses, once an estate of a wealthy local Novak family. Two of the five properties have now been realised – Hose A (2012) and House B (2010). Terra Panonica engages in marketing of authentic local produce and food using contemporary design packaging, and developing new trends in high-end tourism. The architects were asked to design a head office and educational facilities for the company, and to treat all the existing buildings with respect. The concept behind the precinct was to offer an interconnected series of facilities for culture, art and the exchange of knowledge, accommodating participants and visitors, in particular young creatives and professionals from the region.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Craig Auckland.

Pod Gallery by Stonewood Design // This glazed house-shaped gallery sits within an old barn in a English village without appearing to touch the floor, the thick stone walls or the timber-truss roof. Bath-based studio Stonewood Design was tasked with restoring a heritage-listed barn and house, and to create a gallery for the clients’ art collection. The 17th-century buildings form part of an old farm in the Cotswolds – a rural region of southern England known for its limestone houses and picturesque scenery. Past interventions were stripped away from the complex. This allowed the house to be extended into the barn, where the architects have created the new gallery.

Images courtesy of Thomas Kröger Architekt.

Rote Scheune (Red Barn) by Thomas Kröger // Situated on the western shore of Oberuckersee lake, Uckermark region, Germany, Rote Scheune is a converted barn-turned-holiday apartment. Preserving the original architecture and all the elements that define the rustic barn, Berlin-based architect Thomas Kröger has transformed the interior opting for a winning combination – timber and white paint. Timber beams make an appearance throughout the house as homage to the original architecture and simultaneously serve as a prominent decorative element. A once rustic and utilitarian space has been transformed into an elegant holiday retreat that still feels accessible and incredibly down-to-earth. Talk about bringing something old back to life – on steroids!

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Tomaz Gregoric.

Alpine Barn Apartment by OFIS ARHITEKTI // Slovenian studio OFIS Arhitekti has converted a run-down old cattle barn into an Alpine holiday cabin. Named Alpine Barn Apartment, the converted two-storey building is located in Bohinj, an area within the Julian Alps of north-western Slovenia. It offers guests a quiet retreat with a rustic exterior and a contemporary timber-clad interior.

Photography by Hufton + Crow.

Found Associate Private Residence in Cotswolds, England // There are barn house conversions and then there is THIS  barn house conversion and extension to end all conversions and extensions, you know? This private house, located in the Cotswolds, England, was designed by Found Associates. The home is surrounded by nearly perfect landscaping, with green rolling grass and a lake framed by tall and lush trees. A rather extraordinary ‘little abode’, don’t you think?

Photography by Doris Lasch.

Garden House by Vécsey Schmidt Architekten in Buggingen, Germany // Until the 1970 a huge barn could be found in the place where the structural work of the garden house was erected. The boundary wall merges with the wall of the garden house. On top of the wall a cornice fulfils the transition between the wall and the steep roof. The ornament of the cornice can also be found at the covering of the two gables. The simple looking floor plan and the distinct shape put the garden house into an archetypical appearance. Minimal interventions inside the building offer the possibility to use the garden house all-year-round.

Photography by Yury Grigoryan.

Barn by Project Meganom // This Barn pavilion was created for the land art festival “Archstoyanie” in Nicolo-Lenivets in 2006. It wasn’t built not the drawings, but from an SMS. Indeed. The entire description was provided in the following message – “Meter fifty three lateral facade apex four zero one base four ninety five length five sixty five plank twenty mm vertically drill under different angles for each square meter six hundred openings of ten mm seven hundred openings of seven mm a door one hundred sixty with a spring also drill to open strictly towards the north to orient a detached tree in the evening lit inside a lamp of five hundred watt”. Are you serious? I guess so.

Photography by José Hevia.

Casa C by Camponovo Baumgartner Architekten // Young Zürich-based architects Marianne Julia Baumgartner and Luca Camponovo have converted a hundred year old hay barn into a modern family house in a high valley village in Reckingen-Gluringen. Like most buildings in the area, the barn is a protected heritage monument. The challenge was to renovate the structure without destroying it’s outer facade. Structurally, each barn was divided into two units. The architects have kept this structural division, conceiving the house as a new volume trapped inside the existing one. All the surfaces are untreated and exposed to natural deterioration.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Tim Van de Velde Photography.

Schuurbain in Zedelgem, Belgium by Atelier Vens Vanbelle // Revealing its inner structure and expressing its elemental composition, this barn plays a game between its vernacular heritage and material composition. Supported by concrete foundation walls, the barn’s roof construction is externally expressed through a layer of see-through polycarbonate sheeting. Full of light, transparent and structurally revealing, this project exhibits a whole other, more distinguished face of barnyard architecture.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © José Campos.

SAMF Arquitectos Reinterpretation of a Traditional Portuguese Farmhouse // Sara Antunes and Mário Ferreira of Lisbon office SAMF Arquitectos have designed ‘Casa dos Caseiros’, a residence for the caretaker of an estate that overlooks the Douro river in one of Portugal’s main wine producing regions. Set in a vineyard with traditional agricultural buildings nearby, the property replaces an existing farm building and is part of the gradual regeneration of the site to improve its potential for agriculture and tourism. Simple white volumes, terracotta tiles, retaining walls made of local stone, and joinery painted a vibrant shade blue, all reference the vernacular style of the existing buildings, helping the new addition blend in with its surroundings – but with a contemporary twist.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Tim Crocker.

Ochre Barn by Carl Turner Architects // Ochre Barn is a multi purpose development that houses a retreat, studio space and a private residence for Carl Turner, principal of London based studio Carl Turner Architects, and his partner Mary Martin. Despite it’s rural setting at Norfolk in England, let me tell ya there is nothing remotely “agricultural” about these buildings. No sir!

Read the full article about the project and see more images here.

Photography by Morten Holtum & Mirjam Bleeker.

House by Studio INAMATT // From two vacant barns, remnants of the agricultural activities that historically took place on these planes, INAMATT designated one space for working and living, and turned the other one into an area for contemplation and creative practice. In the treatment of spaces and structure, trough the thoughtful interventions that took place here, the DNA of building by INAMATT comes forward.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Ester Havlová & A2F Architects.

Jonas Barn by A2F Architects // This building was converted into a family home by adding a new house inside a derelict barn. The character of the old stone structure could be maintained while offering comfortable modern spaces for living. The many views connecting interior, exterior, and the space in between add spatial qualities to the house. The barn finds itself in a symbiotic relationship with the new addition that, in turn, receives some of the old building’s DNA by reusing original materials. Instead of being discarded, the place begins a new chapter by developing its identity.

Photography by Julien Lanoo, courtesy of JKA + FUGA.

Solar Villa by Jérémie Koempgen Architecture (JKA) // In the hamlet of Pied de la Plagne in Morzine, the team made up by JKA architects and FUGA designers have revisited Alpine carpentry techniques to convert a traditional farmhouse into a comfortable contemporary villa. The disjointed battens formerly used for drying hay are replaced by a well thought-out system of cut-out patterns, which filter light into the heart of the building. Though complex and kinetic in detail, the original volume remains legible in the simplicity and strength of its design. The variation of cut-outs is designed to optimise light transmission while concealing the bay windows.

Photography by Felipe Díaz Contardo.

Barn House at Lake Ranco Chile by Estudio Valdes Arquitectos // Trusses salvaged from an earthquake-damaged barn support the roof of this contemporary glass-walled summer cottage on the shores of one of Chile’s largest lakes. Brothers Carlos Ignacio Cruz Elton and Alberto Cruz Elton of Santiago firm Estudio Valdés Arquitectos designed the building as a holiday retreat for their families in a forest that extends along the edge of Lake Ranco.

During an earthquake in 2010, the barn’s adobe walls had completely disintegrated and the owner, who was uninterested in reconstructing them, decided to sell the building to the architects. Doors and sections of the barn’s vast roof framework were salvaged for use in the summerhouse, while the rest of the trusses were incorporated into projects undertaken by the other buyers.

Photography by Andy Haslam.

Cat Hill Barn by Snook Architects // Eighteenth-century Cat Hill Barn was first built as an agricultural shed, but had been abandoned for years and was on the brink of ruin after previous owners had inserted a truss structure that was too weak to support the roof, causing the outer walls to bow. Snook Architects were tasked with rebuilding the internal structure and roof of the barn, removing a floor added previously by a local architect, and transforming the space into a two-storey family home.

Photography by FG+SG – Fernando Guerra.

Clara House by Inês Cortesão in Portugal // Embraced by the village, a stone house with two floors is located at the end of an alley. The intervention by Inês Cortesã began with the removal of all contents left there by the former inhabitants. The base for this project is a stone box of gold granite, connected to a contiguous volume of plastered brick, where the kitchen and the bathroom were built.

Photography by João Morgado.

Barn House by Inês Brandão Arquitectura in Monte Real, Portugal // Recovering a building with 50 years ‐ half housing, half barn. The aim is to maintain existing memories from a space that, once, was the stage to such varied experiences ‐ rural stories mixed with stories of young people from a controversial time. A single new element is inserted in this space, almost like a furniture piece, that idea is accentuated by its own materiality – painted OSB. With a very small budget, it was essential to create a compact element, bringing together all the new functions – kitchen, toilets, storage and staircase.