Sandy Rendel elegantly converts a barn into a simple house in the British countryside
A derelictbarn with acorrugated iron roofin West Sussex, UK, has been converted into acomfortable, yet notover domesticatedhouse bySandy Rendel Architects and is surrounded by gardens designed by Piet Oudolf
This elegant re-imagining of a former working barn finds new freedoms within a simple industrial framework. The architect Sandy Rendel has garnered plenty of experience of working within the planning constraints and social eccentricities that shape the modern English landscape, following up lengthy stints at the studios of both James Gorst and Tony Fretton before setting up his own office in 2010.In 2016, the studios South Street house in Lewes, perched on the edge of the South Downs, won anRIBA award and was shortlisted for the Manser Medal for best completed house in the UK.
This new project sits amidst existing gardens in West Sussex, a well-loved and much visited horticultural destination.The original structure was a derelict Dutch barn, a familiar rural form with open sides and a corrugated iron roof that no longer served a functional purpose on the site. Rendel and his team had to play a canny game with the planning authorities, invoking a clause that allowed the conversion of disused agricultural buildings into dwellings.
It was an exercise in trying to ensure the raw form and character of the original barn was maintained and not over domesticated, Rendel explains, with the key challenge being to preserve these qualities whilst also making a well-insulated, comfortable and spacious place in which to live.
The surrounding gardens have been developed over the past decade by the clients in close collaboration with the Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf.The converted barn adjoins them and certainly retains an agricultural form, with a ribbed zinc clad facade and the characteristic curved roof. Whether its rising above the planting or looming over the approach road at the edge of the site it appears for all the world like part of a farmyard. From inside the house, the emphasis is very different with glazing arranged to make the most of the very seasonally planted garden. In the summer, the landscape changes considerably and full height frameless windows frame verdant views from every angle.
The apparently effortless simplicity of the exterior was hard-won, not least the planning requirement of retaining the character of the original barn. The architects and the fabricators agonised over every aspect of the detail design to give the joints and corners a flawless yet still industrial quality. We studied the ad-hoc compositions of un-designed and regularly repaired agricultural structures, Rendel says, we also looked closely at the industrial photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher. The end result is asymmetrical and honest, responding to its site and the brief with characteristic restraint.
The barns internal plans are inverted, with bedrooms on the ground floor and an open plan first floor to make the most of far-reaching views across the garden to the Souths Downs. Dark joinery, wooden floors and red and turquoise shelving units are paired with the dark red steel of the industrial-sized roof joists. The studio is planning to add a cylindrical viewing tower on the site, in a style that evokes a typical grain silo, to create a viewing platform for the garden and continue building in the pared back agricultural tradition.
Read the original post:
Sandy Rendel elegantly converts a barn into a simple house in the British countryside - Wallpaper*
- former textile workshop transforms into modern machiya residence in kyoto - Designboom - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- MoDus Architects wraps school in tartan pattern for "warmth and familiarity" - Dezeen - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Architect Eyal Weizman on Mapping Israel's Genocidal Campaign - Democracy Now! - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Aural Art Show Brings Aestheticism to Architects - PantherNOW - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- 125 Greenwich Street by Rafael Violy Architects catches fire in Manhattan while under construction - The Architect's Newspaper - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Barcelona Architects Association visit the Spotify Camp Nou works - FC Barcelona - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Disagree Better Architects, Not Arsonists - National Governors Association - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Construction Underway for Music Venue in Midtown Sacramento - San Francisco YIMBY - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- House of Reclaimed Gold / OutOfTheBox I Eco-Architects - ArchDaily - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Baracco+Wright Architects realizes a light-filled back building - The Architect's Newspaper - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- HMC Architects is one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2 - Fast Company - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- AE Works Announces Strategic Acquisition of WTW Architects, a Pillar in Pittsburgh's Architectural Legacy - StreetInsider.com - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- DINGWALL Streams ARCHITECTS' Bassist Ripping Through "Doomsday" - GearGods - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Exclusive: Connie Booth, One of the Chief Architects of PlayStation's First-Party Studio System, Is Joining EA - IGN - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Bookstore in the Blast Furnace / hyperSity architects - ArchDaily - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- The Dalmore Luminary Series 2024 Edition revealed - Wallpaper* - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- MAD Architects' Forthcoming Lishui Airport: a White-Feathered Bird Ready to Soar - Archilovers.com - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Neon surprises await in this Cologne home by DIIIP architects - Yahoo Lifestyle UK - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Count down to Architect'24, the ASEAN's largest building technology exposition - Nation Thailand - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- foster + partners designs 'the star,' a hollywood tower wrapped in spiraling gardens - Designboom - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Kasper architects + associates Inc. seeks DDRB approval for facade renovation of Downtown office | Jax Daily Record - Jacksonville Daily Record - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Fernando Lara looks beyond famed architects to uncover deeper themes throughout history | Penn Today - Penn Today - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Photographing the BEM - The shared learning building (BEM) at cole Polytechnique - World-Architects - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Among the Clouds Art Center / Yuan Architects - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- The Most Talented Landscape Architects in Arizona - Iconic Life - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Gallery of MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Unveil WrtZ Masterplan in the Netherlands - 2 - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- MVRDV, Orange Architects, and LOLA Unveil WrtZ Masterplan in the Netherlands - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Why Architects Should Watch "Perfect Days by Wim Wenders - Archilovers.com - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Croxatto and Opazo Architects front Chilean home with rotated terrace - Dezeen - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Exploring the Legacy of Modernist Landscape Architect Dan Kiley - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Rethinking Marketing? The Rise of Narrative Architects | by Meir Amarin | Jan, 2024 - Medium - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Check Out This Ultra-Luxe Half-Floor Residence At One Thousand Museum By Zaha Hadid Architects Asking $8.5 Million - PROFILE Miami - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- 16 Materials Every Architect Needs to Know (And Where to Learn About Them) - ArchDaily - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Holcim and Zaha Hadid Architects team up to print circular bridge - Global Construction Review - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- MSG withdraws its application to build a Sphere in London - The Architect's Newspaper - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Kooo Architects designs rural hotel to blend with village in China - Dezeen - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Deep-finned colonnade frames home extension by Will Gamble Architects - Dezeen - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Designer and Architect Neri Oxman Accused of Plagiarism - Hyperallergic - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- With 'Hand and Machine,' architects revert to analogue forms of expression - STIRworld - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Ontario landscape architects seek legislative update for profession - qpbriefing.com - January 13th, 2024 [January 13th, 2024]
- Paying Tribute to the Influential Architects We Have Lost in 2023 - ArchDaily - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Five international work opportunities for architects and designers - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architects OMA reinvent the art museum in Buffalo - The Globe and Mail - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architect Shigeru Ban of Japan visits Maui to offer sustainable housing option in wake of wildfire - Maui Now - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- James Gunn shares photo of some of the DCU architects - Batman-News - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- MAD architects' nanhai art center in china emerges from the lake like endless ripple of water - Designboom - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- MAD Architects imagines Nanhai Art Center like "a continuous wave of water" in Foshan city - World Architecture Community - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Preliminary Application for 1581 University Avenue in Central Berkeley - San Francisco YIMBY - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Kapoor named new CEO of DMR Architects - ROI-NJ.com - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Kadre and Lehrer Architects team up for a new transitional housing community in Los Angeles - Archinect - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- sa Hjort Architects completes blocky home on Sweden's southern coast - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Repurposed Imperfection-Embraced Buildings - Trend Hunter - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architects recommend awnings for temperature control, design accents - Palm Beach Daily News - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Vote for US Building of the Year 2023 - - World-Architects - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Client Solution Architects Achieves ISO Recertification for IT, InfoSec, Quality Management Systems; Tim Spadafore ... - ExecutiveBiz - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- The Multiple Facets of the Architect: Exploring the Works of lvaro Siza Vieira - ArchDaily - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Meet the American Institute of Architects' First Black Woman President - The Story Exchange - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Civic Architects and VDNDP "embrace imperfections" for university retrofit - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architect Coke Florance Remembered for Influencing Nation's Capital and Colleagues - CoStar Group - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Five international work opportunities for architects and designers - MSN - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- 2023 Year in Review: Andrew West, Elkus Manfredi Architects - New England Real Estate Journal Online - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- AIA honors five projects in 2023 Design for Aging Review Award - Archinect - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Architect whose work helped shape Memphis dies at 84 - Action News 5 - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- From Trash to Ornament: Architects and Designers Give New Life to Discarded Objects - ArchDaily - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- The 126 Best Architecture Books - ArchDaily - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Less experimentation and more "safe spaces" will define 2024 architecture - Dezeen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn Welcomes 2024 By Sharing Photo Of DCU Architects - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Belsize Architects' contentious Kensington timber block finally approved - Architect's Journal - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Budding architects and planners urged to follow sustainable building practices - The Hindu - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Srijit Srinivas - ARCHITECTS built brick family house with angled ... - World Architecture Community - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- The Secret Architect: The soul-destroying experiences of a Part 3 ... - Architect's Journal - November 16th, 2023 [November 16th, 2023]
- Freight forwarders: Architects of global supply chain - STAT Times - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- An Architect Known for Building Castles in the 'Vegetable Kingdom' - The New York Times - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- 50 Times Architects Put In The Effort To Make Something Extra ... - Bored Panda - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- This row house is designed to produce as much energy as it uses - Toronto Star - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Two Dutch Architects Take Center Stage with the New Kunstwerf in ... - Architectural Record - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- May 17 Webinar by HFA Architects and Engineers Explores Design ... - Supply Chain Dive - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- A Progressive-era architect gets her due - Artforum - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Urbahn Architects is hiring a Sr. Architect/ Construction Administrator ... - Archinect - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Gienapp Architects Announces Addition to Design Team - Boston Real Estate Times - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]