Sheep Farm Barn

One-third of the building is divided into two floors, containing two small galleries for drawings or maquettes, while the remaining two-thirds is a full-height space used to display larger works. One-third of the original barn was used for fodder for sheep, while the remaining two-thirds was given over to storage.

With a base of Staffordshire blue bricks, the elevations appear from a distance to be constructed from the black-stained weather-boarding. The simplicity of the interior means that it still feels like a barn. The zinc roof was selected for aesthetic reasons.

It was essential that exhibitions can be entirely separate to meet the different environmental and lighting conditions. A system of large sliding doors between spaces, can configure up to 32 different ways of using the space. Internal windows have been fitted with shutters.

The floor is thick enough to accommodate underfloor heating, and strong enough to take the high point loading of the larger exhibits.

Plain white walls conceal a wall construction of 200mm concrete blocks, providing high thermal mass. Vents on either side of the building open at night to admit cool air which is expelled through the central air-handling unit.