A carefully detailed new family home in the countryside, The Brick Barn replaces a modest 20th-century bungalow with a generous, energy-efficient house that feels grounded, refined and deeply connected to its rural setting. The design draws on the language of local agricultural buildings, simple forms, robust materials, and subtle craft, reimagined to create a modern, enduring home.
The Brick Barn sits on the footprint of a former bungalow, surrounded by open countryside and long views across the landscape. Working with the site’s natural topography, the new house is partially embedded into the slope, allowing much of the building to sit low and discreet within the plot. A subterranean lower level houses a garage, cinema room, workshop, and utility areas, functionally hidden but seamlessly connected to the main home.
Above ground, the house adopts the form of a low-slung barn, echoing the rural vernacular. Clad in warm red brick with traditional slate roofs and accents of black timber for shutters, the building blends into its surroundings while asserting a clear contemporary identity.
The plan is split into two distinct volumes, joined by a glazed and covered link that acts as a quiet moment of transition and connects the internal spaces to the landscape beyond.
The rear, two-storey wing houses bedroom accommodation above the sunken basement spaces, providing privacy and calm. In contrast, the front, single-storey wing contains the more social areas: an office, family room, living area and a generous kitchen-dining space for everyday use and entertaining.
Throughout the home, large vaulted ceilings create a sense of volume and openness, framing expansive views of the countryside and drawing in natural light. External sliding shutters offer flexibility, allowing occupants to modulate daylight, privacy and solar gain depending on the time of day or season.
The material palette is tactile, local and robust. Red brick, slate roofing (subject to confirmation), and black timber elements reflect traditional agricultural buildings in the region, reinterpreted with crisp, contemporary detailing.
Internally, heavyweight polished concrete floors help to regulate temperature and give a sense of permanence. Crittall-style windows provide a refined industrial edge, and large panes of glazing frame the surrounding landscape with minimal interruption. The bespoke kitchen, designed in collaboration with Inglis Hall, features oak cabinetry, brushed black granite and raw brass detailing, a space that feels crafted and purposeful, at the heart of the home.
Sustainability was embedded in the project from the outset. A large photovoltaic (PV) array provides on-site electricity generation, while underfloor heating and high levels of insulation throughout ensure excellent energy performance. The use of heavyweight materials like polished concrete floors adds thermal mass, helping to passively regulate internal temperatures across the seasons.
Green roofs and sensitive landscaping enhance biodiversity and further anchor the building in its setting, creating a home that not only performs well environmentally, but feels connected to the land it sits on.
The Brick Barn is the result of a close and open collaboration between client, architect and contractor. The success of the project lies in the shared vision and attention to detail throughout, from early concept to completion. It stands as an example of how contemporary architecture can quietly respond to context, celebrate craft, and create spaces that feel generous, grounded and enduring.
Photos by Oliver Perrott
