The Art of Designing Barn Conversions

Charlie is a regular columnist for Homebuilding & Renovating, which is one of Britain’s most successful self-build magazines.  In the September issue read Charlie’s Design Masterclass on the secret to a successful barn conversion.

The secret to a successful conversion is working with the existing building, rather than shoehorning in ‘traditional’ domestic features, says designer Charlie Luxton.

With a practice in rural north Oxfordshire I’ve been lucky enough to work on lots of barn conversions and I love designing them. I relish the challenge of creating a functional, dramatic home while maintaining the core ‘barn-y-ness’ of the building. For me, the Litmus test for the success of any conversion is that, if led blindfolded into one and then unmasked, you should immediately know what kind of building you’re in. Too often conversions obliterate and obscure a barn’s origins so that it looks and feels like an ordinary but oddly proportioned house, and not a celebration of the utilitarian beauty of the existing building.

In many ways, barns are a bit like relationships — if you hope to take one on because you want to change it, then don’t. If you can love it for what it is, quirks and all, then a barn’s life is for you.

 

Embrace the Functional Beauty

The recent changes to planning rules have opened up the possibility of residential conversion for many agricultural structures previously considered not worthy. Dutch barns (opposite, left), corrugated metal barns and pole barns are supremely functional. Embracing the ‘barn-y-ness’ of these buildings is even more important in getting the best out of this latest crop of agricultural buildings ripe for conversion. I find real beauty in their pragmatic simplicity, but you do have to work with their core character and make the structure, form and materials work for you rather than force them to be what they are not.

The barn form lends itself to so much of what we want in a modern home — space, height and massive openings for walls of glass. They allow for experimentation in affordable, interesting materials, too. Metal, timber, fibreboard, rubber, you name it, pretty much anything goes with these buildings — except trying to make them what they are not. They are not constructed from traditional house materials, for instance, so trying to reclad them in slate, tile, brick or stone will more than likely end up looking wrong. Nor are they ‘polite’, with regularly spaced portrait windows which conform to the Golden Ratio. They shouldn’t have porches, dormers, brick chimneys or fiddly domestic details. If you do want these features, go and buy a house! If you want to go on an adventure into design and a home full of architectural interest, barns are a good bet.

 

Getting the Interior Spaces Right

Another challenge with barns is fitting in all the rooms and functions necessary in a modern home without subdividing the space too much; again, think back to the blindfold test. I also always try and make a ‘moment’ in a barn conversion when you can understand the entire height, width and length of the original space; a memory of the raw, untamed building. Architecture needs drama and barns can provide this through wonderful uncluttered space — keeping this alive as you transform your barn is key to success.

The blindfold test should also apply to the interior design and fit-out. The interior and exterior should chime. This could be through simple, rustic, agricultural-inspired construction using traditional materials, or contrasting super-sleek modern minimalism (the Kitchen Architecture Bulthaup kitchen, above, being a prime example). It is not for me to say how it should be or look, but it must communicate and be in dialogue with the buildings roots.

 

Introducing Light

When built, barns were not conceived for human habitation. As such, they usually have very few openings, but those openings which they do possess tend to be either massive – designed for loading and unloading industrial-scale machines and/or animals – or very small, for purposes of cross ventilation. Getting light into all the rooms without punching the building with too many new openings, is one of the single biggest challenges facing converters.

There are no hard and fast rules but I tend to start with the light and view, locating the principal habitable rooms where the main openings are, while accepting that some parts of the building will, most likely, be dark. Utility, plant rooms and WCs may only have borrowed light but if handled well and contrasted against spacious, light-filled living and circulation areas, they can be an interesting counter note in the wider composition of the design. Dark, cosier spaces may well lend themselves to snugs and living rooms used in the evening.

Do all you can to avoid new openings. Where they are absolutely crucial, consider them in the same vein as the existing structure. Fewer larger openings are nearly always better than multiple smaller ones. Single openings that span between floors or rooms so that externally they appear as one opening rather than two, can help maintain a building’s integrity. Barns were not generally designed with polite symmetry in mind, they are often a bit random and asymmetric, so try and continue that in your alterations. Most barns are a simple rectangular shape, so rooflights are key to getting light into the middle of the building while maintaining the monolithic integrity of the walls. Here too anything domestic is the enemy so think large single rooflights rather than multiple small ones.

  • Oxfordshire farmhouse nearing completion - Careful design and attention to detail is breathing new life in to a collection of neglected farmhouse buildings in south Oxfordshire. We are restoring original brick barns and reorienting the main farmhouse to take full advantage of a fabulous view,
  • Black Barn Studios in Passive House + magazine - Our studio, Black Barn Studios is the cover star of the current edition of Passive House magazine. The magazine have written an in-depth article about our approach to creating a highly sustainable, energy efficient design exemplar. That attention to detail were key in
  • Planning permission for ultra sustainable office development - Planning approval has been given to a very exciting project; an ultra sustainable office development for an ethical investment company. The ambition of the client is to combine three main areas.  Working environment, sustainability and community. Taken together, these principles
  • Building Insights Podcast - Building Insights is a podcast which speaks to key people from across the construction industry. Ranging from the worlds of design, construction, development, self-build and social housing management, it provides an range of enlightening and unique viewpoints from a wide
  • Blackwood in competition shortlist - One of our recently completed projects, Blackwood , has been shortlisted for two prizes in this year’s The Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards. It has been nominated for Best Self Build Home and Best Green Home. There is a People’s
  • Planning permission for home in conservation area - We are delighted to have received planning permission for a replacement dwelling on a tucked away and narrow site in Buckinghamshire. The proposals seek to improve the site with a low-energy and highly insulated dwelling that is sustainable and efficient
  • The design team visit to recently completed project - This week we had a team outing to visit one of our completed projects. It’s especially useful to see a project once the client’s have moved in and chat about how they are experiencing living in their new home. It
  • Planning permission for farmhouse annex - We have recently received planning permission for an annex to a farmhouse in Devon. The annex forms part of a multi-phased project for the farm. The design intends to provide accommodation for ageing members of the family where they can
  • Beanacre in The Modern House - A proud moment for the practice as Beanacre is featured in The Modern House journal this week. Click the link here to watch the full film. The team at TMH have done a wonderful job of bringing out the best in the
  • Summer Party! - Charlie Luxton Design recently turned 18! So to celebrate we held our first summer party at Black Barn Studio’s . We were also celebrating our recent AJ Small Projects Award for Sustainability, along with an exhibition of art from locally based artist Kelly Washbourne .
|