Gianni Botsford Architects Ltd

The Old Byre Home

The Old Byre Home 

Gianni Botsford Architects

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou

ARCHITECTS
Gianni Botsford Architects

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Stephanie Aue, Gianni Botsford, James Eagle, Oli Martin

PRODUCTS USED IN THIS PROJECT
Rodeca Translucent Building Elements

DESIGN TEAM
James Eagle

ENGINEERING & CONSULTING > STRUCTURAL
Horne & Littlemore Structural Engineers

MANUFACTURERS
RODECA GMBH, Swisspearl

PHOTOGRAPHS
Schnepp Renou

AREA
170 m²

YEAR
2023

LOCATION
Northwood, United Kingdom

CATEGORY
Residential Architecture

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou

English description provided by the architects.

Set on a ridge amid acres of pasture above West Cowes, Isle of Wight, near shipyards and light industry.

The Old Byre is a conversion of two farm buildings into a home that also affords residency and working spaces for visiting artists.

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou

Insulated and wrapped in corrugated cement board on the outside, the project leaves the interior of the old barns largely intact, prioritizing retention over demolition.

Seen from the outside, The Old Byre appears indistinguishable from other farm buildings nearby.

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou

From the central courtyard on the other hand, where drift seeds and weeds grow in the cracks of the original surface and drains, a complex domestic exterior unfolds, framed by a translucent polycarbonate facade punctuated by large glazed aluminum doors which provide a separate entrance to each of the living and working spaces inside.

The two buildings that make up The Old Byre have been purposefully left disconnected.

Daily life is animated by passages and crossings between private and social spaces, through the cool morning air, rain, and summer heat.

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou

At night, the facade glows, intimating activities on the inside. In the older barn, a house within a house has been built from spruce plywood.

A back alley connects the more intimate, private interiors it harbors, tempered and modulated by full-height doors without traditional handles or locks.

A concrete plinth supports the facade, frames the courtyard, and continues into the interior, providing the connecting ground for the transformation within.

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou

Animals used to live here, now humans.

The archetypes that animate the design of The Old Byre are the piazza, the archive, the sound of work and industry, the demand of the environment, the social, the sharing of food, and care.

The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou


The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou


The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou
The Old Byre Home
© Schnepp Renou


The Old Byre Home
Section 1
The Old Byre Home
Section 2
The Old Byre Home
Elevation


The Old Byre Home
Ground Floor Plan
The Old Byre Home
Rooftop Plan
The Old Byre Home
Site Plan

Gianni Botsford Architects Ltd
T +44 20 74342277
Gianni Botsford Architects Ltd
Atlantic House, 65 Jeddo Rd, London W12 9ED, United Kingdom