Farm Lane involves the repair and replacement of a series of outbuildings in the grounds of a 16th Century farmhouse in the South Downs, East Sussex. Through close collaboration with Harris Bugg Studio these buildings will be situated within a landscape scheme that provides a productive and resilient setting whilst respecting the natural beauty of the surrounding hills.
Central to the architectural proposals will be a new building that replaces a failing asbestos clad 1960s barn. Working with Structure Workshop, we have proposed a hybrid timber roof structure spanning across the two enclosed spaces that bookend the building. Between these two blocks sits a covered breezeway that connects the farmyard to the garden meadow and provides generous views of the Downs beyond.
The brief is focused on wellbeing spaces, including a sauna, pool, and yoga studio, and in response we have explored the elemental aspects of the site. The use and control of water has been considered with a set of features including a new pond, natural lap pool and localised above ground water harvesting. The strong coastal winds will be mitigated within the breezeway with mobile shutters, whilst interior spaces will utilise it for natural ventilation.
Across the scheme a careful balance has been sort between the covered external areas, heated internal areas and the superheated interior of a new garden sauna. Throughout the proposal low carbon bio-based materials have been specified and in collaboration with Vida Design new building integrated photovoltaics, air source heat pumps and batteries have been proposed to ensure the spaces can be sustainably ran with minimal reliance on the electrical grid.
