Rough Hey Barn
Grand Designs Awards "Best Conversion" Winner 2010
The site was purchased with planning permission to convert the two barns into single storey properties. The developer wanted to maximise the value of the site by accommodating bedrooms on an upper storey. The brief required a simple home with an open plan living space with extra room to accommodate guests. The house had to be wheelchair accessible for visiting relatives. The house was to make use of the natural gifts of land and elevation for heating and power.
The new dwellings had to be accommodated within the existing buildings. The agricultural character had to be retained. Although the original openings had to be retained, few new openings were usually allowed, the planners agreed to punching out two side panels of the barn to create large glazed panels. Later negotiations allowed us to replace the front façade, giving an opportunity for the central window.
Our initial proposals retained the link between the barns and reinstated the gable to the lower barn. This allowed us to link the roofs across the centre, gaining extra height at first floor to accommodate bedrooms and bathrooms.
The living space and terrace was to be at the front of the house to take advantage of the view. Therefore entrance level had to be arranged to sit below the living areas to maintain view and privacy. Through careful negotiation, a detached garage was traded for an integral garage at basement level on the site of an existing concrete tractor shed.
The barn is semi-detached along its south wall; it has no south facing windows. Rooflights were used to bring sun into the living space and bathrooms. Sunpipes were installed and angled to the south to direct sunlight into internal spaces. Head height is restricted on the first floor; the compromised area has been kept open to retain the sense of space in the bedrooms. The social relationship between the two barns had to be carefully managed. All living areas are directed away from the party wall.
The external design had to provide adjacent social spaces where both families could sit out and appreciate the view without compromising privacy. This was achieved by setting out the level of Rough Hey Barn one metre above the attached barn, with a long solid wall to achieve visual privacy.
The site was purchased with planning permission to convert the two barns into single storey properties. The developer wanted to maximise the value of the site by accommodating bedrooms on an upper storey. The brief required a simple home with an open plan living space with extra room to accommodate guests. The house had to be wheelchair accessible for visiting relatives. The house was to make use of the natural gifts of land and elevation for heating and power.
The new dwellings had to be accommodated within the existing buildings. The agricultural character had to be retained. Although the original openings had to be retained, few new openings were usually allowed, the planners agreed to punching out two side panels of the barn to create large glazed panels. Later negotiations allowed us to replace the front façade, giving an opportunity for the central window.
Our initial proposals retained the link between the barns and reinstated the gable to the lower barn. This allowed us to link the roofs across the centre, gaining extra height at first floor to accommodate bedrooms and bathrooms.
The living space and terrace was to be at the front of the house to take advantage of the view. Therefore entrance level had to be arranged to sit below the living areas to maintain view and privacy. Through careful negotiation, a detached garage was traded for an integral garage at basement level on the site of an existing concrete tractor shed.
The barn is semi-detached along its south wall; it has no south facing windows. Rooflights were used to bring sun into the living space and bathrooms. Sunpipes were installed and angled to the south to direct sunlight into internal spaces. Head height is restricted on the first floor; the compromised area has been kept open to retain the sense of space in the bedrooms. The social relationship between the two barns had to be carefully managed. All living areas are directed away from the party wall.
The external design had to provide adjacent social spaces where both families could sit out and appreciate the view without compromising privacy. This was achieved by setting out the level of Rough Hey Barn one metre above the attached barn, with a long solid wall to achieve visual privacy.
Project Year: 2010
Project Cost: £500,001 - £750,000
Country: United Kingdom
