Transformative renovation barn conversion in the Hérault
“The barn became the focal point of this execution, the missing piece of the puzzle. It brought all elements of this site together in a cohesive and completely natural way.”
This large winemakers stone barn was attached at 90° to the existing house. In an unfortunate original renovation, the existing living accommodation was accessed from inside the barn, which was not ideal. The barn had a dirt floor and was completely original with upper original wooden platform over the ground floor. There were 5 existing concrete wine vats along one side.
The brief was to convert the barn and integrate it into the main living accommodation as a kitchen and dining area. The challenge was unifying it as living space in a way that looked natural and coherent with the existing building and site.
The design resolution - bold openings and clear lines of axis
The key to this design execution was understanding the relationship between all the elements of the site. The rear pool area, accessible through the barn, was mirrored on the other side by a green space. It was important to establish a visual and transit connection between the external spaces through the new barn volume.
existing building model showing the importance of making a strong visual connection through the building between the green spaces either side. in this case, the pool courtyard at the top and the proposed new garden at the bottom.
To incorporate the barn into the the two buildings required a bold intervention to avoid making it feel ‘bolted on’. Two large stacked openings created the strong visual and physical connection required while providing the practical means to locate the stairs and distribution to the upper floor mezzanine and sleeping areas from a new landing area.
final design execution. creating a substantial physical connection between the two buildings was ACHIEVED by creating two stacked openings. The large openings unified the buildings and overcame the high risk of one mass simply feeling bolted onto the other.
This created a natural through passage to the garden and pool and defined the dining and kitchen space as central to the use of the house. You can now see entirely through the building from both sides.
Existing concrete wine cuves were opened to create a wine cave, the original patina and staining from over 100 years of wine-making retained and sealed for artistic effect. The second wine cuve became a kitchen utility room, both with clear glass doors. The upper floor was converted into a mezzanine media room and a master open plan bedroom. The result is spacious and full of character.
wine cuve transformed into a wine cave with FRAME-LESS glass doors. Original patina and staining retained for effect
Wine-making equipment recovered from inside the barn were used as art objects on plinths in the garden design.
kitchen facing the dining area is the ‘stage’ in this space
VISUALISATION from the concept