Holly Hall Barn is a residential barn conversion nestled in the beautiful rural landscape of Northumberland. It sits on a hillside overlooking the historic village of Corbridge and provides stunning panoramic views of the Tyne Valley. It was in this setting that JDDK Architects were appointed to breath new life into this previously converted agricultural building.

The building itself sits within a greenbelt and was originally converted from a “hemmel” barn to a single dwelling in 1977. Not much had been done with the property since 1977 so the new owners decided now was the perfect time to bring the traditionally built building into the modern era.

The works to Holly Hall Barn included reconfiguring the previously cramped entrance hall to a stunning double height space rising up to the roof line, now flooded with light from the installed rooflights.  A new single span “zig zag” steel and oak staircase, designed with elegance whilst holding on to a sense of the agricultural in its materials and simple form, is a stunning centre piece and room divider, to the now fully open plan “long room” that overlooks the Tyne Valley through the original 6 arches of the hemmel.

A second living space was created – cosy with a newly installed fireplace and glazed doors facing west over the fields.  Bedrooms and bathrooms have been refurbished and a practical “boot room” added on as part of a new-build extension extension.  This now incorporates an extended garage, a wood pellet store and a workshop space.

During the design development process, we worked with our client to consider a number of aspects around low carbon and sustainable design that could be incorporated into the scheme.  Pros and cons were considered carefully, taking into account practicalities of the existing spaces and budgets.

The works included:

• High performance wood pellet boiler replacing the previous oil fed boiler
• Completely new heating system including underfloor heating, efficient heat emitters, TRV’s and zoned controls
• High performance double and triple glazed windows and doors throughout
• Insulation added to the existing ground floor construction
• Thermal upgrades to the existing fabric
• 400mm loft insulation
• PV’s generating electricity on the garage roof
• Utilisation of timber structural elements where possible (lower embodied carbon than steel)
• A green sedum roof to the workshop
• Re-use of removed materials e.g. use of floor paviours on the extended patio and for garden paths.