brick barn

Architect: Milk Architecture & Design

Our Shoreditch clients were planning a move out of town but wanted a few urban references to make them feel at home in their new setting. Their Victorian barn and adjoining stables were part of a group of Manor buildings that were being renovated by their family to house new generations. The brick barn’s agricultural heritage was particularly industrial and ideally suited to our city dwellers.

A planning permission was already in place to convert the barn but we needed to expand that to create a larger family home with eco-infrastructure. The Manor house and curtilage was grade 2 listed and the whole site was on green belt land, however by cherishing the original fabric and designing with care we were able to expand the permission to include a new rear extension, landscaping and outbuildings.

The result enhances the character of the original barn and stables and adds a contrasting contemporary layer to accommodate modern life. We planned the room layout to suit the existing lofty or cosy proportions, left roof trusses and brickwork exposed,  then added new rooflights for daylight and placed windows to capture sweeping views across the neighbouring fields.