Farnell Farm

Barn-to-guest house conversion

High Weald AONB, Kent

The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is one of the best surviving medieval landscapes in Northern Europe. On its northern edge lies Farnell Farm, an arable estate of 345 acres. Nestled between the ancient woodland and a Cobnut tree and Blue Bell plantation lies a light-industrial agricultural barn in steel construction used for the storage of farm equipment.

The project involved the adaptive re-use of the shed into a guesthouse. Two first floor guest rooms were created working with an existing steel mezzanine. The ground floor is occupied by the owners’ living quarters and a communal open plan kitchen and living space with views into the open landscape and woodland. The large new triple-glazed window openings were formed following the logic of the structure.

One third of the footprint was retained as barn serving the estate. The concept comprised to thermally upgrade the existing facade by insulating from inside and using the existing corrugated steel sheets as carrier for a new breather membrane and black rainscreen cladding.