Conversion of a 1800s barn into two adjoining apartments
The transformation of this barn is part of a desire to preserve and respect the built substance that characterizes the peasant constructions of the early 1800s, thick walls made of large stones which contain an irregular oak framework to support the roof.
Deliberately discreet from the outside, the intervention consists in having an intramural box containing two adjoining apartments whose typology dialogue with the grid dictated by the existing structure.
The two main arrays of posts organize the interior space into three distinctive sections. Two of them are dedicated to housing, while the last one hosts common spaces and technical areas. Older and newer elements of the construction coexist in this space which acts as a buffer zone with the neighboring dwelling.
Access to the apartments is through the original stone porches which retain their vocation as an entry point. Behind them, a patio develops with double height to offer a first glimpse of the work whose warmth of wood contrasts with the mineral austerity of the envelope. Each unit is distributed into three levels around a staircase, articulated alongside the original sinuous beams structure.
A series of holes in the old gable façade now allow the housing to open onto the rear garden and bring light. The wooden cladding of the deep windows subtly expresses the intervention outside while preserving the authentic character of these old buildings.
