Upper Farm Studio

The Client is an artist and printmaker requiring a series of daylit spaces to carry out a variety of wet and dry processes ranging from design to sewing and etching / printing. The building typology adopted is clearly legible as a simple barn form, appropriate for the setting at the interface between the domestic gardens of the village and the open agricultural landscape. The form also works well for the studio use, with an abundance of controlled daylight from the roof, and inspirational views out over the meadow to the North-west. A single window in the South East facing gable picks out a more focussed view. The structure is a simple series of expressed portal frames made from LVL timber. The external materials palette continues with the aspiration of simplicity. A fibre cement roof on top of larch boarded walls speaks of simple vernacular barns, but with the careful detailing of a less agricultural finish. The glazing is a repetitive module, but with an enlarged section of glazing in the central bay – referencing the barn tradition of a large central opening. The entire superstructure is made from timber with wall U values of 0.14 W/sqmk. Internally the Client’s brief called for white surfaces, which is given some relief and a suggestion of materiality by the expressed portal frames. The main volume is semi divided by a series of smaller servant spaces hosting the WC, plant and kitchenette as well as a small fume cupboard room. The building is heated by an airsource heat pump and underfloor heating within the power floated.