Accessible House, Barrington
The site for this new house was adjacent to West Green at Barrington. It lay in the curtilage of a listed farmhouse (in separate ownership) and a second barn, which together formed a large semi-private entrance courtyard. To the north stretched a meadow with long landscape views to open countryside. The owner had known the original buildings for many years, and called the southernmost barn the play barn - a description that has been retained.
Landscape Designer - Mia Witham
Contractor - Gilbert and Gregson
The brief asked for a house for a couple, one of whom uses a wheelchair, and their visiting two grown-up children, with accommodation for a live-in carer. It was important that the house was completely accessible, with good views out from the main spaces.
Conservation restrictions dictated that the house retained a ‘barn-like’ character and maintained a smaller scale than the neighbouring farmhouse, and that the courtyard was not too domestic, but agricultural and robust in character.
The house was placed on the footprint of the original barns, with a primary east-west main accommodation wing, a single storey north-south entrance wing and the southern east-west ‘playbarn’. These wings formed a new private west-facing courtyard garden that could be accessed from the main living space and playbarn and provided privacy, south light and sun to the main living space. The kitchen, located at the knuckle of the building, has doors that open onto a north garden terrace with stairs up to the meadow and south into the courtyard.
On the first floor the main bedroom suite with accessible shower room, study / morning physio space and roof terrace enjoy long north views, and a southern outlook over West Green. A lift and staircase give access from the ground floor directly into the spacious bedroom. The bed faces the north garden view and is served by a hoist. All roof truss glulam tie beams in the sitting room and bedroom were sized to allow connection by glulam joists and installation of hoist runs as needed.
The sitting room, bedroom suite and play barn are animated by roof trusses with rods and glulam tie beams. The sitting room and play barn are lit from above by a ridge roof light. A microcement floor finish unifies the ground floor and gives a good reflective accessible surface.
The kitchen island provides a rise and fall worktop with small sink, microwave and kettle. There is easy access to storage cupboards opposite.
Cork provides a warm floor finish to the bedroom suite. A custom oak bedhead provides light and audio visual controls to the bed.
The courtyard garden (landscape design by Mia Witham) has warm red paving defining a dining area, shaded by olive trees. Water features provide a soundscape. A perforated brick wall screens the space from the neighbouring property giving glimpses of a wild flower meadow beyond.
