I have an urge to further extend and heighten these dry stone walls. I’ve always fancied living behind a wall. I think there’s something primal going on here.

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One corner of the barn has been carefully rounded, it speaks to me of workmanship, care and simple good design (don’t worry I’m not literally hearing walls speak). The stones are arranged to offer no sharp edges, no right angles. My favourite reason for constructing the wall in this was is to save cows that round the corner from banging their hip bones - although friendliness to any animals or machines going that way is probably the real story.

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The barn is endowed with a handsome pair of opposing cart doors. The doors stand about 12 feet tall and are topped by a arch of cut, dressed stone. After some research on Wikipedia, I reckon they are segmental, shouldered arches.

The arches are two of the major features of the barn, when building has been completed they will both be glazed and will hopefully provide ample light to the interior. What I want to do is to leave as much of the arch-work visible, not just outside, but inside as well. This is difficult with building regulations demanding heavily insulation on all the walls except those that are entirely internal. Tricky, but I think worth attempting as it would be a great shame to hide such features behind boards and insulation.

This raises a question, around balancing the admirable energy concerns of building regulations with the desire to not only preserve but also celebrate & enjoy our architectural heritage. Tricky question that one…

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With a project like this it is sometimes easy to allow the big picture to overwhelm the little things.

It is often the little things that make the whole thing seem worthwhile at the beginning. So, in appreciation of the little things, I thought I’d put together a series of posts on those features that […]