barn at thruscross
We were appointed in 2021 to develop proposals for the reuse and residential conversion for sale of a traditional stone barn in the Upper Washburn Valley in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, west of Harrogate. The building has historic and typological value as part of its wider landscape setting and is a good example of a functional agricultural regional building type. We were therefore keen to avoid ‘domestication’ of the building and its immediate setting, to retain fabric, features and details, respect the building’s form, layout and pattern of openings, limit the introduction of addition door or window openings and overall to conserve and enhance the character of the building.
Our initial historic building analysis led to the development of volumetric and spatial organisation strategies internally to suit the position of existing door and other openings to maximise daylighting into key spaces and to reveal the form and roof structure of the barn. We proposed a sympathetic and limited palette of materials to identify alterations and insertions within the existing barn, while also improving the fabric performance and energy efficiency of the building. Sensitively altering the setting of the barn was integral to the approach, to reduce visual impact by creating a contained domestic curtilage within a rebuilt dry stone walled garden.