In recent years, there has been an encouraging trend of remodeling old buildings and giving them different functions from their original ones, instead of creating new blocks from scratch. A former barn, just like a barn, can become a single-family house today. It is inspired not only by its shape and form, but also by the materials that were once used to construct farm buildings.
Designed by {tag:Studio}, the modern barn in Wielkopolska is fully clad in wood. No decision was made to impregnate it - the investor wanted the house to age naturally, as only wood does. With the passing of time, the boards will slightly crack, tarnish, change shade, until they eventually become part of the field landscape. The premise was to create a flesh-and-blood barn, not a building imitating its character.
The relatively narrow boards of Siberian larch, which cover the facade and roof openwork, give the house a minimalist character. The exterior window frames are dark fiber-cementpanels. Chimneys were also made of the same material. The overall design emphasizes the barn's form, while the interior counterparts of the window frames frame views of meadows and fields.
Modern barn
Photo by Tom Kurek
Surrounded by nature
The roof extends beyond the gable walls, creating a terrace canopy on the west side. The house is open to the surrounding landscape on almost every side. In addition to the wide and long glazing on the sides of the block, the gable walls are also made of glass. Residents being inside the house do not lose contact with the nature around it. On the south side, cacti collected by the investor were exposed - the architects created a greenhouse for them, using double glazing.
The main part of the building is fully open, with an exposed roof truss that gives the space a cozy expression. The ash planks covering the floor of almost the entire house serve the same purpose - although some of them are cracking, no one seems to mind. This is another "brick" to the character of the barn's interior. Near the house is a paddock for horses, which, next to plants, are another passion of the investor. Both she and the architects wanted to interfere as little as possible with the barn's surroundings. For this reason, the house looks as if it has been standing there for a long time, with no trace of construction, even in the form of sores on the grass from lingering sand or cement. The path leading to the entrance was created from pebbles half dug into the ground, which are slowly beginning to grow green.
