Bank Barn Reimagined
The barns and drystone walls of the Yorkshire Dales are fundamental to the character of this landscape, and the project for Bank Barn demonstrates what is achievable in preventing their decline.
In line with the ambitions of the Field Barn Project, Bank Barn offers a high-quality, sustainable approach to the reuse of these buildings. Strategically, the approach allows the host building to display its beautiful “coat,” while the interior works hard, both spatially and sustainably. Internally, a dynamic series of spaces carefully carve out light and views, avoiding the typical challenges of dark areas often found within buildings of this type. The new dwelling is conceived as an insertion, protecting the historic fabric while providing flexibility of use over the long term.
In reimagining this former agricultural building, this modest piece of architecture is elevated, bringing into focus the passing of time, craft, and the joy of the everyday — qualities echoed in the new interventions.
Awards
Services on this project
Defining the project’s purpose, business case, and initial advice.
Developing the project brief, assembling the project team, and conducting site surveys
Creating initial design concepts, sketch plans, 3D models, and early cost estimates.
Refining the design, including structural, MEP, and architectural details to achieve consents, such as planning permission.
Preparing detailed technical drawings, specifications, and building regulations information.
Building the project, including off-site manufacturing and on-site construction.
Finalising construction, testing, commissioning, and handing over the building to the client.
Post-occupancy evaluation, ongoing maintenance, and monitoring of building performance.
Private ClientIt was the project we had long been planning and looking for — the opportunity to build a ‘new' home in the countryside, where planning permission would otherwise be close to impossible. And at the same time, preserving a historic local asset that would most probably go to ruin.
Private ClientWhen we met Gagarin we knew straight away that we had found the right team to work with. They listened carefully to our brief and their initial design response not only demonstrated the ‘lightness of touch’ that we felt the build demanded but spatially, creatively and sustainably far stretched our expectations of what we could achieve. Their technical understanding and ability to manage and deliver a project like this was most impressive.
