Redhill Barn designed by TYPE was originally an out-farm, a model farm typology which emerged with the modernisation of farming on wealthy estates during the 19th century.
The original building was beautifully built in 1810 and laid out as a piece of agricultural engineering, with cattle housed below and a threshing floor above.
This project was to restore and convert the isolated and ruined stone barn, to create a new home at the centre of an ecological smallholding. Architects wanted to restore the building’s character in an original way and to be very clear about what was old and new, retaining the weathered beauty of the monumental stone shell and wild agricultural setting and wanted to show this when viewed in the landscape, reinstating the hipped roof with milled aluminium sheeting to ‘ghost’ the original roof form in a light, reflective material.
To preserve the striking elevations, TYPE made no new openings, restoring the original dynamics of light and space to the building and designed the new doors and windows so that fenestration was set back and minimised, allowing maximum light to enter. Arched pivot doors allow the wide openings that were originally made for cattle to remain undivided, yet easily handled.
Like the original roof, the old timber floor was lost. To replace both of them, the studio designed contemporary elements that complement the rustic charm of the barn.
Apart from a modern Douglas fir floor, the interior also features a new roof structure that runs alongside the entire length of the house. The team elevated the structure higher than traditional trusses, and thus enhanced the feeling of height and space. Floating volumes in pale sycamore wood separate the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom on the ground level. On the upper floor, the studio designed an open and airy space for the living room. This level also houses a separate study and shower room.
