Barns: Living in Converted and Reinvented Spaces - Softcover

Bradbury, Dominic; Luscombe-Whyte, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060596309 ISBN 13: 9780060596309

Publisher: Harper Design Intl, 2004

Synopsis

Barns are the enduring symbols of a vibrant rural tradition as well as the heart and soul of a new generation of imaginative country houses.Architects are now using and rethinking these alluring and escapist structures, employing design principles that ensure they continue to complement the natural landscape in which they are set. Barns examines the architecture and design of barn conversions and a new generation of contemporary barn houses and illustrates a wide variety of ways to approach such spaces. Each chapter focuses on a key theme -- Landscape, Architecture, Materials, Light, Open Spaces and Private Spaces -- and features detailed case studies. All of the locations are part of a new wave of conversions or new-builds, spurred on by the growing exodus of city dwellers to the countryside.

The country equivalent of the urban loft, barns offer similar opportunities for open-plan flexible living. The open spaces and high ceilings give them a fluidity that allows multifunctional spaces for eating, relaxing and entertaining, making them the home of choice for those wanting to combine rural traditions and natural landscape with new architecture and unconventional layouts. As well as celebrating the new innovations in dividing and ordering space and experimenting with unexpected materials within such traditional structures, Barns also explores the attractions of vernacular architecture that encourages so many architects and homeowners to look again at the traditional barn materials like thatch, wood, mud and straw.

About this title

Review:

'This is a well-put together book, full of intercontinental examples, with great pictures and some pretty heavyweight text....' -- Grand Designs Magazine, June 2004

'This is rural living for town dwellers - the country cousin of the loft space....' -- House & Garden, July 2004

Book Description:

Explores the traditional, reinvented and new-build creation of barn spaces from Norfolk to Connecticut. Shows how barn spaces offer the perfect solution for those wanting to combine rural traditions and natural landscapes with new architecture and open-plan living spaces. 12 case studies introduce original barn spaces in the UK, the US and Europe - from converted prairie barns with roofs sloping to the ground to new-build barns based on vernacular materials and construction techniques. Explains how to achieve the ideal balance between public and private zones within open-plan spaces. The first book to explore the relationship of barn structures with modern architecture.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Design Intl
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060596309
• ISBN 13: 9780060596309
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160