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Clementine Blakemore Architects gives new skin and purpose to derelict barns

The London-based architects work off a three-pronged design intent of restoration, sustainability and inclusivity for Wraxall Yard, a dairy farm turned into a holiday home in Dorset.

by Dhwani ShanghviPublished on : Feb 16, 2023

Wraxall Yard is a dairy farm-turned holiday accommodation in Dorset, a county on the coast of the English Chanel in South West England, UK. Its inclusion in the West Dorset AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) within a 250-acre organic farm, ordains a design approach that is not only a conscious effort towards restoring the existing 19thcentury dairy barns but also alleviates the biodiversity of the landscape, with universal accessibility.

Wraxall Yard facilitates the engagement of its guests with farming and wildlife| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
Wraxall Yard facilitates the engagement of its guests with farming and wildlife Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

The British architect Clementine Blakemore of the eponymous London-based studio (Clementine Blakemore Architects), therefore, works off a three-pronged design intent of restoration, sustainability and inclusivity. Located at the edge of a hamlet of Lower Wraxall, the site is adjacent to the Grade 1* listed Church of St. Mary's, and derives its form and aesthetic from the vestigial dairy barns and the immediate context. The extant U-shaped barn is arranged around a courtyard and constitutes of brick and stone architecture, which in the new scheme is extended towards the south to accommodate an open farm yard, encompassed by a newly constructed Dutch steel barn.

Plan| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
Plan of the Wraxall Yard Image: Courtesy of Clementine Blakemore Architects

The site is accessed from the driveway on the south, with the parking at the rear of the plot, enabling an uninterrupted dialogue between the historic church and the elevations that face it. From the parking lot, a breezeway through the barn leads to the primary spaces in the building, consisting of five rooms for guests, a community space and a workshop; enveloping a landscaped courtyard. The Dutch barn, which is the only newly built intervention, accommodates farm animals and wood chips, while its extension- an adjacent lean-to structure houses the Biomass boiler.

Axonometric of the overall scheme of Wraxall Yard | Wraxall Yard | Clementine Blakemore Architects | STIRworld
Axonometric of the overall scheme of Wraxall YardImage: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

With an aim to retain the existing fabric, Blakemore reuses the openings of the barn, which not only leaves the historic proportions undisturbed but also economises the construction work, and by extension, minimises the carbon footprint of the project. The resultant facades are designed as a congruous composition of openable steel windows and fixed timber windows, made from locally available Douglas fir. Additionally, steel doors and large glazed fenestrations (replacing the original barn doors) bring natural light into the structure and simultaneously contribute to passive design systems that render the project sustainable.

  • Existing openings are retained to preserve the proportions of the existing barn, flushed within the thickness of the wall | Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
    Existing openings are retained to preserve the proportions of the existing barn, flushed within the thickness of the wall Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri
  • Detail of a new timber window, set forward to reflect the incongruous nature of original openings| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
    Detail of a new timber window, set forward to reflect the incongruous nature of original openings Image: Courtesy of Clementine Blakemore Architects

Also contributing to the environmental performance of the building, is the use of natural, low-carbon materials like cork and wood fibre, in the interior design and applied on the walls and roof for natural insulation, respectively. Additionally, a coppice of nut trees along the pathway leading to the breezeway from the parking lot is cut back periodically to ground level thus stimulating the growth of the landscaped lot.

A Dutch barn accommodates farm animals and wood chips | Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
A Dutch barn accommodates farm animals and wood chips Image: Courtesy of Emma Lewis

Since its inception as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, Wraxall Yard has worked in partnership with Green Island Trust, a local charity that works towards providing holidays to locals with a disability, enabling a 60 per cent occupancy by families with a specially-abled member. Additionally, the community space is used for gatherings for the elderly as well as youth with mental health/addiction issues.

(Left) Windows are placed at an accessible height (Right) Rise and fall worktops in the kitchen | Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
L to R: Windows are placed at an accessible height, and rise and fall worktops in the kitchen Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

Explaining the design process undertaken to facilitate a disabled-friendly infrastructure, Blakemore illustrates, "At the start of our appointment, we carried out a Feasibility Study to better understand the possibilities within the site and help define the brief for the project. We visited a number of projects in the South West offering rural experiences to disabled people, including 'care farms' and residential accommodation. Typically, we came away feeling inspired by the activities on offer, but disappointed by the quality of the environments, which often felt institutional; this galvanised our ambition for the accessibility of the scheme to be integrated as elegantly as possible.”

The junction between the columns and existing timber roof truss tie beams are left exposed| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
The junction between the columns and existing timber roof truss tie beams are left exposed Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

The accommodation is thus arranged on a single level with easy circulation paths that host an ample turning radius for tenants with wheelchairs. Furthermore, a number of accessible features like sinks with accessible grab handles, and worktops that change levels to accommodate wheelchairs below are used in the toilets and kitchen. Each accessible room is equipped with height-adjustable and profiling beds, as well as hoisted access to an en-suite bathroom.

The courtyard provides an intimate and secluded visitor retreat | Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
The courtyard provides an intimate and secluded visitor retreat Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

The restoration of Wraxall Yard is informed by the need to retain as much of the original fabric with minimal interventions. Thus, in places where the external stone and masonry walls could not be retained in their existing state, have been strengthened with concrete and repaired with locally sourced stone to ensure longevity.

  • The barn before restoration| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
    The barn before restoration Image: Courtesy of Clementine Blakemore
  • The barn after restoration| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
    The barn after restoration Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

The courtyard walls, which were not salvageable, are replaced timber-framed walls, clad with recycled stone, alluding to the agricultural architecture of the barn. The architect has also preserved construction details that lend a similar aesthetic to the accommodation. The elevations which were composed of brick piers with flat arches, door openings and clerestories, interspersed within the stone walls are retained in the new elevations as well.

  • Brick piers, large openings and flat arches before restoration| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
    Brick piers, large openings and flat arches before restoration Image: Courtesy of Clementine Blakemore
  • Brick piers, large openings and flat arches after restoration| Wraxall Yard| Clementine Blakemore Architects| STIRworld
    Brick piers, large openings and flat arches after restoration Image: Courtesy of Lorenzo Zandri

The new Wraxall Yard is thus the product of a coherent design brief that revolved around the rehabilitation—built, social as well as environmental.  

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