Rose Cottage, Barn

The modest garden studio/gym sits on the same footprint and mimicks th
oofline of the original, and its adjoining neighbour.

The barn stood in the shadows of a Victorian Fen-town house in Cambridgeshire, formerly a stone mason’s yard, pig shed and wood store.

The quality of materials and craftsmanship demonstrated are unexpected. Glimpsed through the gates of Rose Cottage, opposite St Mary & All Saints, the black barn sits unassumingly amidst its neighbours. The site is enclosed on all sides.

Boundary walls are a smooth-faced black brick, with the garden facing a timber-framed wall clad with charred oak (inspired by the fire that razed part of the original). The slate roof is supported on exposed oak trusses, with stainless-steel tension connections.

Internally, a hand-finished black oak floor complements naturally finished oak trusses and internal trim. The dark exterior contrasts with the bright, vaulted interior, lit by rooflights and large shuttered, garden-facing windows. From the main studio space a laundry room is accessed (occupied by hidden robot vacuum). A pocket door reveals wet room, with climate controlled rooflights and ventilation system, and walk-in shower.

The building has been designed to be easily adapted from home-gym to self-contained studio. A low-carbon approach with on-site generation of power from renewables was considered from the outset. Thirteen flush-mounted PVs are installed to the rear roof, connected to the grid, an EV charger, and a fully integrated battery storage system in the cellar of the main house.