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London studio David Kohn Architects converted a farming building on a former dairy farm in Newton Abbot, England, to create a house and studio called Cowshed.
The Cowshed is the final building completed in a 15-year transformation of Middle Rocombe Farm, which has been owned by artist Suzanne Blank Redstone since the early 1970s. ) and her husband, Peter Redstone, own and reside.
David Cohen Architects said the couple had transformed the site into a residential community with the aim of working “in a remote rural area surrounded by diverse families”.
David Cohen Architects’ brief focused on transforming the existing building, which was once a cattle shed, into a future-proof home that respects the building’s site and history.
Project architect Jennifer Dyne told Dezeen: “They sought a home that would allow them to ‘live in sunshine and views’ but still respect the original humble shed whilst creating an accessible dwelling that was future-proofed.”
To achieve this, one of the studio’s main goals for the project was to preserve as much of the existing building (built by the couple in 1979) as possible.
“We wanted to ensure that the original cattle shed built by Suzanne and Peter in 1979 did not lose its agricultural character,” Dyne said.
“Not only did we want to retain the existing building fabric, we also wanted to retain the character of the original space, so it was almost a conservation-led approach.”
With the help of engineering studio Structure Workshop, the studio retained the shed’s original wooden trusses, concrete floors and columns, as well as some block walls to define the new rooms.
In addition to these structural elements, other parts of the original farm were repurposed, including old barn doors, dairy troughs and heat lamps once used to raise calves.
“These elements not only acknowledge and celebrate the Cowshed’s strong character and past life, but provide a deeper connection to Suzanne and Peter, who have had such rich memories of the farm for more than half a century,” explains Dine.
“Instead of wiping the slate clean, we tried to preserve all traces of previous life, whether it’s the original patina of the blocks or the markings on the concrete columns.”
To ensure that any new elements complemented the original structure, David Cohen Architects developed an “economical material palette” using local materials typical of agricultural settings. This included cedar and concrete sourced from the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, any new concrete blocks have been designed with textures and colors to complement the original pink blocks that once separated the cattle sheds.
The Cowshed is predominantly single-storey internally, with no steps on the ground floor, designed to ensure the owners can live there comfortably as they age.
Blanc Redstone’s studio occupies the majority of the existing building, flanked by bedrooms, offices and study spaces. The main living and sleeping spaces are located within the original mono-pitched roof structure, with lower ceilings helping to create more private interior spaces.
Dane said: “Suzanne’s studio occupies the central hall, and the simplicity of the architecture works particularly effectively here. This light-filled room serves as both the fulcrum of the home and the backdrop for Susanna’s artwork, no matter where you look. It all fills the space.”
“Suzanne’s working practice includes being surrounded by her ever-evolving artwork – this space showcases seventy years of her work.”
A focal point of the house is a series of openings of varying sizes and shapes that puncture the newly added profiled metal roof.
These refer to Blanc Redstone’s collection titled “Portal Paintings,” which imagine walls and openings as portals to different worlds.
“The cowshed’s oversized roof light openings come in square, round, and trough shapes that run through the roof,” explains Dine.
“Each room has a different color display that refracts light into the corresponding space – the orange tones of the dressing rooms, the golden glow of the staircase, or the red oxide circles that echo the structural steel of the central studio.”
Another eye-catching detail in the interior is the half-moon window in the kitchen, designed to emphasize the bowl-shaped view formed through it.
The cowshed has a large sheltered terrace at the entrance and an outdoor workshop and studio to one side.
David Kohn Architects is a London studio founded in 2007 by architect David Kohn. Its Cowshed design was shortlisted for this year’s RIBA House of the Year Awards, with the studio winning for its “ordinary but quirky” homes in 2022. Dorset.
Its other projects include an extension to Sanderson House, designed to mimic a fox in the garden, and the interior conversion of a listed house in Berlin into offices.
Photography is by Max Cressy.
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