Barn B is one of several flint agricultural structures forming a sheltered courtyard high in the South Downs National Park. Our clients, who reside in the adjacent barns, wished to expand their home into Barn B and create a dramatic, year-round living space that belies the traditional exterior. 

The clients were eager to avoid the common tropes of Sussex barn conversions, with their typical exposed rafters, timber trusses and brick openings. Instead, the brief was to utilise the grand scale of the derelict building whilst still achieving a quieter domestic feel and calm space, one that offers unexpected surprise as you move through the residence. 

The existing flint walls were repaired and upgraded with reclaimed stone and a natural, breathable insulation system. Two timber roof trusses were removed to open up the vertical space and facilitate a mezzanine. Internal walls of lime plaster and glazed panels were then introduced, subdividing the volume into distinct areas for cooking, dining, studying and resting, achieving human-sized proportions within the agricultural barn. 

The internal glazed partitions create a sense of inside and outside within the barn itself, with the stone floor tiles, grand height and agricultural lighting of the central dining space suggesting a harder, exterior character. This is contrasted by the more intimate proportions and softer, warm materials used for the study, living room and kitchen. Level changes and openings within the barn offer surprising views whilst clerestory glazing floods the space with natural lighting.