A Little Bit Country: Barn Architecture Comes of Age in the Antipodes
The modest simplicity of modern barn style is storming homes either side of the Tasman
Living in a barn may not be everybody’s idea of domestic bliss. But when the elements of barn architecture are itemised, a modern home based on the style starts to feel like a rather good idea: open, spacious, lineally uncluttered, connected to the natural surroundings, low cost, highly energy efficient and supremely adaptable to today’s lifestyles, are just a few of those elements.
Barns are found in the countryside all over the world. Many of them have survived for centuries, and as agriculture dwindled in many rural areas, the rustic charm of disused farm buildings has attracted modern homeowners. The ‘barn conversion’ has become a large architectural subset in many countries, particularly the UK and America. While structures are strengthened and interiors updated, the integral elements that make this style so appealing – simplicity, rusticity and an affinity with the surrounding landscape – have endured.
Early Australian agricultural buildings raised by hardy pioneer farmers were rough and raw, almost invariably timber, often just stacked logs, and from the 1850s, roofed or wholly cladded with corrugated iron. In our harsh climate, few older pastoral buildings survive in a fit state for ‘conversion’ into modern homes, unlike centuries-old, heritage-listed English barns with massive oak beams and stone walls. Yet the elementary functional honesty of the design and materials has a growing number of fans.
Today, design that follows the simple functional form of barns, and agrarian buildings generally, fulfils the needs of homeowners seeking uncomplicated rural dwellings. Creative Aussie and Kiwi architects have interpreted the style in different ways and the results are stunning. Take a look at four down-on-the-farm homes with style in spades.
6 houses inspired by the Australian vernacular shed
Today, design that follows the simple functional form of barns, and agrarian buildings generally, fulfils the needs of homeowners seeking uncomplicated rural dwellings. Creative Aussie and Kiwi architects have interpreted the style in different ways and the results are stunning. Take a look at four down-on-the-farm homes with style in spades.
6 houses inspired by the Australian vernacular shed
1. A Trentham treasure
Antony Martin of MRTN Architects is a keen ‘barn buff’. He developed a ‘thing’ for barn architecture some years ago during time spent in New York. “Every summer I used to rent a 150-year-old barn in the Catskills,” he says. Memories of these summer sojourns sleeping under the barn’s hayloft inspired a desire to eventually build his own barn house.
Retired couple John and Margaret Stockton were planning a home in semi-rural Trentham, north of Melbourne. They wanted an uncomplicated building to sit modestly in its context and identify with the area’s pastoral history. They pictured an energy-efficient, low-maintenance home using modest, rustic materials – Martin’s barn vision fitted these requisites to a T.
Antony Martin of MRTN Architects is a keen ‘barn buff’. He developed a ‘thing’ for barn architecture some years ago during time spent in New York. “Every summer I used to rent a 150-year-old barn in the Catskills,” he says. Memories of these summer sojourns sleeping under the barn’s hayloft inspired a desire to eventually build his own barn house.
Retired couple John and Margaret Stockton were planning a home in semi-rural Trentham, north of Melbourne. They wanted an uncomplicated building to sit modestly in its context and identify with the area’s pastoral history. They pictured an energy-efficient, low-maintenance home using modest, rustic materials – Martin’s barn vision fitted these requisites to a T.
The unpretentious and gentle imprint on the landscape of the traditional agrarian buildings dotted around rural Trentham attracted the Stocktons. The plan evolved as a collection of contemporary farm buildings assembled lineally under a long gable roof.
The elongated structure, running east-west, is 39 metres long and 7.2 metres wide, and is partitioned according to how the Stocktons wanted to utilise the house. “It had to be able to adapt seamlessly between large and small numbers of occupants,” says Martin.
The elongated structure, running east-west, is 39 metres long and 7.2 metres wide, and is partitioned according to how the Stocktons wanted to utilise the house. “It had to be able to adapt seamlessly between large and small numbers of occupants,” says Martin.
The rear view shows a large garage-cum-workshop at the western end abutting an open-sided carport. Next to this is a two-bedroom guest wing and family bathroom. The central living/kitchen/dining space adjoins the master suite, with spacious a bedroom, bathroom and study or fourth bedroom, creating privacy and separation for both bedroom areas.
A covered drive-through carport forms a wide corridor between the front and rear of the building. “It’s reminiscent of where the tractor shed would be in an old barn,” says Martin. It’s an everyday loading and parking zone, providing shelter from westerly sun for adjacent guest bedrooms. Aside from its practicality, the breezy space frames the handsome mature gums at the southern edge of the property.
With a modest budget and a brief for a build sympathetic with its context, Martin says he didn’t incorporate “frivolous” materials. Shiplap spotted gum cladding will weather to become almost a camouflage for the building. The roof is corrugated Colorbond in ‘Monument’ and a low wall of gabion baskets filled with local stone stretches the length of the house, protecting the outdoor area behind it.
Energy efficiency has been achieved through materials used and the form of the building. “The house is largely self-sufficient,” says Martin.
Cooling costs are non-existent. North-facing glazing is set back from the facade to create some shade from midday summer sun. Southern glazing is minimal and timber screens help block lower morning and afternoon sun. The linear layout means the garage and open carport are buffer zones from westerly heat for the adjacent guest quarters. Tanks capture sufficient rainwater runoff for domestic needs and garden irrigation.
Tricks to save energy … and money
Cooling costs are non-existent. North-facing glazing is set back from the facade to create some shade from midday summer sun. Southern glazing is minimal and timber screens help block lower morning and afternoon sun. The linear layout means the garage and open carport are buffer zones from westerly heat for the adjacent guest quarters. Tanks capture sufficient rainwater runoff for domestic needs and garden irrigation.
Tricks to save energy … and money
Trentham’s cold winters, with occasional snow, meant heating costs could skyrocket. However, because of the shallowness of the building, the sun creeps almost right across the floor in winter, warming the stone tiles and concrete slab. The slab then provides thermal mass, contributing passive evening heating in winter and summer. Floors throughout the space are charcoal stone in ‘Abyss‘ from Eco Outdoor.
The fine diagonal lattice of full-height spotted gum batten sliding screens in mild steel frames is a refined detail in the building’s facade.
The fine diagonal lattice of full-height spotted gum batten sliding screens in mild steel frames is a refined detail in the building’s facade.
Martin appreciates the large internal volumes possible in barn-style buildings. A striking aspect of this home is the cathedral ceiling at its core. Martin prevailed over the owners’ initial reluctance, arguing for the dramatic impact of the sudden increase in volume. From the exterior, the chimney punctuates the long, low building at its midpoint at a height of 4.5 metres. The vaulted ceiling was achieved within budget because of conservative building practices in the rest of the home.
The dual-faced fireplace is a warm and welcoming social focus and visually divides dining and sitting areas. It provides all-important supplementary winter heating.
The dual-faced fireplace is a warm and welcoming social focus and visually divides dining and sitting areas. It provides all-important supplementary winter heating.
Although rustic from the outside, the interiors are modern, muted and stylish. Kitchen cabinetry is hoop pine plywood, with stainless steel benchtops. The tiled splashback from Ceramica Vogue cleverly echoes the sleek grid of the cabinetry. Pendant lights are B.Lux ‘Ilde Wood‘ from Light Project.
See more pictures of this home
See more pictures of this home
2. A winning woolshed
Woolsheds are a familiar sight in country Australia. This rustic home in Tonimbuk in southern Victoria, a contemporary take on the iconic Aussie woolshed, won the 2011 Building Designers Association of Victoria award for best residential design of a new home up to $300,000 and most innovative use of brick. Architect Sven Maxa from Maxa Design says it mirrors the simple organic buildings constructed from easily obtained and durable materials common in rural areas. “Gable ends, sliding doors, rectilinear plans, along with corrugated iron and timber, feature regularly in this style,” he says.
Woolsheds are a familiar sight in country Australia. This rustic home in Tonimbuk in southern Victoria, a contemporary take on the iconic Aussie woolshed, won the 2011 Building Designers Association of Victoria award for best residential design of a new home up to $300,000 and most innovative use of brick. Architect Sven Maxa from Maxa Design says it mirrors the simple organic buildings constructed from easily obtained and durable materials common in rural areas. “Gable ends, sliding doors, rectilinear plans, along with corrugated iron and timber, feature regularly in this style,” he says.
Energy efficiency has been achieved by adapting existing masonry walls for thermal heat-bank storage. Maxa says simple lightweight structures like this reduce embodied energy, and a design that is responsive to the climate delivers better thermal performance. The home sits lightly on the ground and in its surroundings. With the inclusion of sliding glass doors running the length of the building, the owner is connected with, not isolated from, the climate.
As with Martin’s Trentham design, there is generous internal volume and wall space, essential for displaying the owner’s artwork. Entertaining and living areas are spacious and show a creative blend of old and new building materials, with recycled bricks and natural raw materials. The large apertures facing each other through the centre of the building, reminiscent of the drive-through tractor sheds and threshing floors of traditional barns, create a breezeway and a frame for the bucolic views.
3. A black beauty
Meanwhile, across the Tasman, New Zealanders are applying the charms and functionality of barn style to new builds. The holiday house in the picturesque Moutere Valley in the north of the South Island echoes the barn-like buildings dotted around the landscape. In the tradition of grouping functional farm buildings close together, a nearby separate garage/farm shed houses a tractor, machinery and equipment used on the five-hectare property.
Meanwhile, across the Tasman, New Zealanders are applying the charms and functionality of barn style to new builds. The holiday house in the picturesque Moutere Valley in the north of the South Island echoes the barn-like buildings dotted around the landscape. In the tradition of grouping functional farm buildings close together, a nearby separate garage/farm shed houses a tractor, machinery and equipment used on the five-hectare property.
The owners wanted a flexible home to suit just the two of them, but which could also welcome family and visitors without compromising their privacy. The rectilinear barn design is divided into three wings for guests, living and entertaining, and a master bedroom wing, ensuring separation but enabling communal gatherings.
The north-south orientation creates a summer sun trap, and the polished concrete floors allow for passive solar gain in winter.
The north-south orientation creates a summer sun trap, and the polished concrete floors allow for passive solar gain in winter.
Materials are largely organic and minimally finished, featuring lots of timber and stone. Dark-stained vertical cedar clads the exterior, and the interior has a pitched cedar-batten ceiling, cedar bookshelves, macrocarpa trusses and a fireplace of local Lee Valley stone.
Did you know? Black is a traditional colour for tobacco barns in southern US states. They were painted with a low-cost coating of tar and oil to preserve the timber.
See more homes embracing the dark side
Did you know? Black is a traditional colour for tobacco barns in southern US states. They were painted with a low-cost coating of tar and oil to preserve the timber.
See more homes embracing the dark side
4. Bold barn with a difference
A project on the Kauaeranga River on New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula has taken barn style to dramatic heights. Completed in 2015 by Herbst Architects, it departs from the prototype of many buildings based on the barn aesthetic that sit lightly in their surroundings. This house has solidity and strength, and is a robust angular intrusion into the rugged landscape. The owners were inspired by an old barn in the valley, built from rusted steel panels recycled from a defunct locomotive. Architects Nicola and Lance Herbst were equally smitten by the New Zealand agrarian sheds, barns and baches they’d seen.
A project on the Kauaeranga River on New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula has taken barn style to dramatic heights. Completed in 2015 by Herbst Architects, it departs from the prototype of many buildings based on the barn aesthetic that sit lightly in their surroundings. This house has solidity and strength, and is a robust angular intrusion into the rugged landscape. The owners were inspired by an old barn in the valley, built from rusted steel panels recycled from a defunct locomotive. Architects Nicola and Lance Herbst were equally smitten by the New Zealand agrarian sheds, barns and baches they’d seen.
In true rural style, materials chosen were unpretentious, rough and weathered. The enclosed top floor, containing two bedrooms, is a plywood box clad in heavily aged corrugate, taken from a former brewery in a nearby town. Oregon pine trusses, acid-treated copper panels, timber shelving, a solid timber kitchen bench and recycled tapware appear throughout the house.
Conventional glazed windows were rejected for the top floor, because, as Nicola Herbst says, “the agrarian structures the house references would never have had windows.” Instead, blade windows open for light, air and view, then melt back into the facade.
Conventional glazed windows were rejected for the top floor, because, as Nicola Herbst says, “the agrarian structures the house references would never have had windows.” Instead, blade windows open for light, air and view, then melt back into the facade.
As the owners spend more and more time in their rough-hewn barn home surrounded by breathtaking scenery, their lifestyle is coming close to self-sufficiency. They grow much of their food, nearby trees provide firewood, rainwater is gathered and stored, and sewerage is treated on site. Solar panels further up the hill provide power for hot water. Take a tour around this striking home.
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TELL US
Does this style of architecture appeal to you? What features do you like most? Tell us in the Comments section.
MORE
Browse more stories about architecture
Since men and women gave up their nomadic lifestyle and started making permanent settlements, growing crops and raising livestock, they have built structures for shelter and storage. Simple functional forms and rustic materials were the order of the day, with lofts for fodder, livestock shelters and crop storage.