The existing building was a barn originally built in approx. 1895, which the clients wished to convert into a modern family home whilst retaining the buildings agricultural language. The client’s intention was to ensure that the building maintains the composition of a large farmstead, reflective of its context in the High Weald. The proposals included retrofitting the building fabric by introducing insulation and membranes to improve the thermal performance and airtightness to contemporary building regulation standards.
Wild Haven
The house is accessed via a private driveway that opens up to view the house and the 50 acres of High Weald AONB it is situated within. The project comprises of the main 4-bedroom house that is split over two existing levels of the barns, as well as an agricultural storage barn to the top of the driveway. Our works also involved carrying out the hard landscaping for the site.
Internally oak trusses are supported by hand-crafted concrete saddles, whose materiality is mirrored by the vast vaulted timber clad ceiling and micro-cement running throughout the main spaces, honouring the original barns agricultural roots. The raw steel balustrade helps form the visual link from the ground to the mezzanine whilst natural light floods from above through intentionally located roof lights. The bespoke joinery is purposeful in both its materiality and positioning, none more so than the 2.4m walnut divider that creates a private entrance to the primary bedroom off the main social space.
