This exciting project was a conversion and extension of a remote, rural barn, set in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Our clients, a young family, had hunted for a house to suit them but could find nothing that met their aspirations for modern family life in the country. Blake Architects, who found the old barn, were approached to see how we could adapt it for them. We gained planning and designed all the conversion work and extensions, with client input on the interior finishes.
The key focus for our clients was to create a large, central, open living space for the whole family to spend quality time in when together at home. Our solution was to design an extensive open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting area, which provided the ideal environment to be together as a family in a comfortable and stylish space. All new elements of the house take on agricultural forms, such as the circular corten steel grain silo, plus concrete grain store and haybarns; these bold interventions are all reinterpretations of the structure’s original purpose, with indelible links to the countryside that surrounds it, resulting in a home that is fully connected to its provenance. The living space is tall enough for swinging chairs, with views looking out to a flower meadow, beech copses and the Cotswold Hills. The property has been sustainably built and is highly insulated, plus with building materials locally sourced where possible.
There is a simple and poetic robustness to the design which is honest to the character of the modern barn. This is complemented by the touches of fun and colour with signature pieces of furniture and sculpture the client has brought which brings their mark to the whole.
