Built in the 18th century, almost 300 years ago, a barn set in a picturesque rural area close to Folkenstone, a town lying on the English shores of the English Channel, is a new and strong argumentation in favor of the harmonious symbiosis between old and new. The images below stand clear proof to that, the results of a two year long work which saw the old barn turned into a contemporary dwelling oozing a Bohemian air.<\/p>\n

Shortlisted for the prestigious Stephen Lawrence National Architecture Award and awarded a 2015 RIBA South East regional award the Ancient Party Barn is a playful re-working of historic agricultural buildings for residential use. The design inverts the typical barn-conversion type, creating hermetic, introspective spaces set in open countryside, the architects with Liddicoat&Goldhill say on their website.<\/p>\n

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The contemporary barn – closed and then open to the surrounding nature<\/p><\/div>\n

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The clients are collectors of salvaged architectural artifacts and materials. Rather than demand specific spaces or programs, their brief focused on materiality and atmosphere, and on creative re-use of the existing volumes. The architects\u2019 task was to combine the quality of the surviving barn fragments with the texture and tone of their found materials.<\/p>\n

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The contemporary barn – industrial feel interiors<\/p><\/div>\n

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Industrial-scale kinetic mechanisms create openings that address key views into the countryside. Massive, insulated shutters recall the original barn doors, and protect a vast rotating window operated by an adapted chain-lift. To the East front, an American aircraft-hangar door allows the exterior to concertina upwards, creating a canopy over the dining terrace and revealing ribbon glazing within. A single roof light, running the length of the main roof\u2019s ridge provides steady ambient light to the living spaces.<\/p>\n

One of the central spatial challenges was insertion of a mezzanine (for sleeping and bathing) into the main volume.\u00a0\u00a0 A tapering brick chimney supports the corner of the mezzanine, and incorporates a cantilevered, waxed steel staircase and an open fireplace. This hybrid device interrupts the regularity of the three-bayed barn and delineates the different programs within.<\/p>\n

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The contemporary barn – kitchen and a bedroom<\/p><\/div>\n

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https:\/\/vimeo.com\/137743253