'The restoration of a Lakeland barn to create three environments for creativity and spiritual practice.'
The barn and the shed sit high on a Lakeland plateau in a remote, exposed and beautiful location. The restoration project will carefully conserve this remarkable piece of Lake District agricultural heritage and redevelop a new low-carbon annexe. Three distinct temperate environments will be created for the practice of creative, martial and spiritual arts. The threshing floor of the barn will be retained as an outside-inside space. Below it, an amorphous cave-like snug and new extension will lead to a bright training space with views over the surrounding lands. Each of these three spaces will be heated via ground source heating, supported by log burning stoves. Walls are either locally sourced stone or breathable hempcrete, with interlocking masonry which re-embeds the building’s hardy structure back into the network of drystone walls that crisscross the landscape beyond. This project is the result of a long design journey with the client to explore how augmentations of scale, texture and thermal enclosure affect internal and external perceptions.
Cumbria
2021