Renovation of an old barn into a modern high performance home in Vermont
The last house on a dirt road in the hills of Southern Vermont.
This house has had many lives. The property itself has as well. While exploring the woods and fields, we found an old cellar hole and a beautiful pond that looked man-made with berms not of beaver origin. The old barn and outbuildings themselves were probably not in their original locations and had been turned into a summer camp half a century ago.
We initially looked at various options including leaving the barn alone and creating a new building, dismantling the barn and re-using the frame and moving the barn and creating a new foundation for it. We ended up leaving the barn in place and stabilizing the existing stone foundation.
The design process was intensive and thorough as we endeavored to make the most of the inherent possibilities within the framework of what we had chosen to retain.
The resulting home is very insulated, airtight and warm and cozy in the winter as well as bright and airy.
The project won a “best of the best” award from Efficiency Vermont
Robert Swinburne Architect – Bluetime Collaborative
builder: Webster Construction + Mathes Hulme Builders with Helm Construction Solutions
interior design – Joanne Palmisano
lighting – Brilliant! – Tim Matheson
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photo by Lindsay Selin
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photo by Robert Swinburne architect The original structure
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photo by Lindsay Selin
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photo by Lindsay Selin
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photo by Lindsay Selin
