Modern Barn Dorset residence photos, southwest England timber-clad home, English sustainable architecture photos

Modern Barn in Dorset, UK

22 Aug 2023

Design: Coffey Architects

Location: Dorset, southwest England, UK

Photos © Phil Coffey

Modern Barn, England

Coffey Architects completes the Modern Barn, a timber-wrapped coastal home-made of three linear stacked volumes over Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

Set on a sloped plot, Modern Barn is a cluster of three pitched volumes on a foundational plinth made of from local Blue Lias stone. It is wrapped in larch timber and arranged linearly along the sloping site to minimise profile and maximise space.

Sat atop Stonebarrow Hill, the 1830 sqft home looks across Charmouth Beach and across the bay to Lyme Regis. These panoramic coastal views orient the group of single-storey buildings on the 1.8-acre site, which follows the contours of the hillside at a gentle step.

Replacing an existing, dilapidated three-bed house, the new home includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study and generous
living/kitchen/dining area. Sitting deep within the landscape so as to not detract from the surrounding setting, the small volumes are integrated and seemingly submerged in the landscape, though excavation was minimal so as to not disrupt the earth below.

This cluster of units which comprise Modern Barn serve various purposes, beginning with client desire. Their brief was to create a cohesive home with room for autonomy, which separate living, study and sleep spaces provide. The single storey elements are deliberately staggered behind one another to lessen the visual impact of from the town and coast and to ensure the new home retained the scale and character of the existng building. The spaces are linked together in a linear formation, connected via a central stepped north/south axial corridor, driving views outward to the landscape at key moments.

Both the interior and exterior of the home are wrapped in the warmth and tactility of timber. Outside, the naturally greyed cladding wraps over the roof, concealing guters and forming a sharp and seamless profile. Larch batons create a crisp and linear façade. The clever arrangement of the hit and miss louvres on both ends of the home creates a textured facade that defines the individual
sections with shifting shadows as the sun traverses the sky. Inside, the overlapping of the timber cladding with the primary glazed walls establishes a playful threshold that generates captivating shadows. Oak panelling further holds the warmth of the coastal light and provides a gallery wall space for the homeowners’ vibrant print collection.

Director Phil Coffey said, “At Modern Barn there is a seamless integration of the external pattern and interior shadows which offers a compelling experience, imbues the building with a unique identity, and fosters a genuine sense of belonging to its surroundings. With a focus on sea, sunlight and warmth of materiality, this is rich internal landscape in which to live.”

Furthering the idea of indoor/outdoor living, large terraces line the east and south elevations. Just outside the kitchen, a wide, walled-in area is dedicated to the owners’ love of hosting a good barbeque. A window is strategically placed so that food and serving items can be passed with ease.

Facing the sea, a similar stone terrace spans the width of the house, ideal for watching the sunset. These terraces sit within a thoughtfully curated garden, inspired by a masterplan by Harris Bugg Studio. Further, following completion of the house, the homeowners built a beautiful yurt to sit at the end of the garden, between their home and the coast, so they and their guests may sleep under
the stars. The structure is composed of bamboo slats, mirroring the larch batons that make up the linear composition of the main house. Internally, upholstery in reds and yellows bring warmth to this outbuilding.

The homeowner client said, “This is our house – it reflects us and our personalities. It’s warm and soft and sunny. The light and the way it runs through is incredible. This home is like a slickly wrapped parcel and everywhere you look out you see green and blue – it’s absolutely wonderful!”

Modern Barn was designed with passive design principles to embrace the sun where it is useful and protect from it when not. These moves include incorporating south facing glazing to maximise solar gain, a provision of solar shading in summer and the thoughtful arrangement of windows to facilitate good cross ventilation.

Modern Barn in Dorset, southwest England – Building Information

Architect: Coffey Architects – https://www.coffeyarchitects.com/
Principal designer: Chris Cahill Ltd
Structural engineer: AKS Ward
Phase 1 contractor, substructure: A. Hammond & Sons Ltd
Phase 2 contractor, main build: Gibbs Gordon
Services engineer: Evergreen Renewable Energy Ltd.
Project Manager: Guy Bamford

Suppliers
External tmber wall & roof cladding – Russwood
External & internal stone – Hadspen Quarry, Somerset
Doors & windows – NorDan / Aspect
Ceramic tles – Domus
External floor paint to car port – Sika
Roof cladding integrated fixing point system – Nicholson Rooftrak IFP 200
Pocket doors – Portman
Rooflights – Roofglaze

Photography ©Phil Coffey

Modern Barn, Dorset, southwest England images / information received 130723 from Corstorphine & Wright Architects

Location: Dorset, southwest England, UK

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