Before Snook Architects worked their magic on this eighteenth-century Yorkshire barn, it was, as they related to Dezeen, one hecka-busted hot mess, all but "on the verge of collapse," the outer walls bowed out from a botched attempt at inserting new supports. What a successful renovation would need, in their estimation, was to "retain the spirit of the place by allowing the barn to reveal itself and its double-height volume at key points." Translation: you better work, and boy did it. This old mare looks ready for a night on the town!
The walls were secured by inserting a steel frame into the existing masonry, and the roof was supported with a series of pegged oak trusses arching over the double-height kitchen and dining room, which is separated from the living room (both pictured below) by the barn's original brick fireplace. A glazed first-floor gallery now overlooks the space, which was opened up with the insertion of large timber-frame windows; a boon in terms of form, because now that the place has 'got it,' its got no reason not to 'flaunt it.'
And what did all this effort amount to for Cat Hill Barn? As Snook tells it, a sustained "working aesthetic" achieved with a "stripped down utilitarian palette of material"; in other words, the architectural equivalent of 'get it, girl.'
· Old Yorkshire barn converted into a modern home by Snook Architects [Dezeen]
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