Commenting on the uses of
architecture for relaying history, the critic Lewis Mumford wrote: “In a city,
time becomes visible.” In old buildings, history becomes not only visible but
tangible as well. The years can be felt
in an exposed-brick wall or a worn stone floor.
In inhabiting old structures-dwelling underneath hundred-year-old posts
and beams-these residents are not just living with history, but living within it. There is a pervasive feeling
that something has come before.
The designer John Saladino talks
about the Roman philosophy of building one element on top of another, creating “layers
of history.” This preservation of
history-not in a museum but in the midst of our daily lives-is the result of
converting old buildings, as well. Underneath the veneer of the new is a glimmer
of the old.
To describe the effect of
the old layered with the new I use the word palimpsest,
an ancient term for parchment that was used and erased when the original
text was unwanted, then reused.
Intriguing traces of the old text were always still visible-and often
legible- under the new. Being able to “read”
parts of the old structures underneath the new architecural “text”-seeing a
smooth plaster wall reach up to meet roughhewn beams-relates past and present
in a visceral way. Respecting the
history in these buildings is key to a sucessful conversion, and when the
conversion works-when a balance is struck between saving the character of the
old and adding the practicality of the new-the result can be far more exciting
than anything newly built.
I find the back-to-basics
simplicity of a barn fresh and appealing. Every barn comes with its historic
fabric woven into the old beams. You
need not travel to the UK to find gems like these since they are everywhere an
agrarian society was present. But, some
of the most outstanding conversions are British barns.
The emphasis of this project was
to provide a high quality low carbon barn conversion. The sustainable design features consists of underfloor
heating and a highly insulated interior with triple glazed windows and doors. The rainwater from the renovated barn, and new
extension, is drained to a rainwater underground collection tank that allows a
free supply of water for the whole garden.
