Brookside Barn

Project Overview

This development featured the refurbishment and conversion of an existing cattle barn into a detached residential property. The barn is adjacent to an existing farm house and was nearing the end of its serviceability life of the structure, due to a lack of maintenance and use in the past decades. The design proposals were to create a modern habitable living area, whilst retaining its agricultural heritage. To achieve this, we meticulously tried to salvage as much of the existing structure as possible to ensure the current development was true to the original. Further investigation confirmed that the original roof trusses were unable to accommodate the loadings associated with the proposed residential use. Therefore, the decision was made to redesign the roof trusses to support the proposed roof build-up while maintaining a close resemblance to the original design. Fortunately, the original columns were considered adequate to support the new roof trusses. The original foundation was utilised, overlaid with a screed, and polished to create a finished surface which had the reminiscence of the previous cattle barn whilst providing a modern finish.

A section of the building is recessed, which forms a courtyard enclosed on three sides of the building with a glass façade. The challenge was to incorporate the original columns which would now be external. This was overcome with the formation of a false truss in the courtyard which gives the appearance of continuing through the glazing to present a uniform truss through the length of the building. All of the key structural elements such as the vertical and horizontal bracing as well as the roof trusses are visible, and seamlessly pierce through the partition walls to allow the agricultural nature of the structure to shine. Although the structure has modern elements, they are done so that the original heritage of the structure remains in all aspects of the building.

Awards:

IStructE Northern Counties Structural Awards: Medium Projects Awards (Special Commendation)