• Client: Private
• Architect: Waind Gohil + Potter Architects
• Photography: Anthony Coleman

The Old Barn at Worton Farm is a marriage of new and old, incorporating a 18^th century barn which appears in the Domesday Book into the design of a new two storey house. As with any project where existing and new structure are combined there were a number of engineering challenges to be overcome in order to create a building which met modern day requirements whilst being sympathetic to the building’s history.

The structural solution incorporates three walls from the west part of the existing structure and timber components of the existing roof structure into a new timber and steel framed structure founded on shallow footings. Throughout the structure timber floor joists with plywood coverings make up the floor plates and roof structure between the steel members, retaining existing timber beams and roof elements wherever possible. Lateral stability is provided by steel bracing and by the existing walls acting as shear wall.

In the retained portion of the existing structure the existing stone masonry walls were combined with a new non-structural inner lining of blockwork. At first floor level new timber beams span between the retained external walls, providing vertical support to the mezzanine level and tying to the tops of the walls. The roof structure has been reconstructed from existing timber primary rafters, purlins, ridge beam and collars, with secondary timber rafters supporting the roof boards/plywood and finishes.

One of the biggest engineering challenges was the foundations. The new structure is founded on unreinforced trench footings, widened locally to form pad footings at high point loads (typically column locations), while the retained portion of the existing structure was underpinned to the depth of the new foundations to prevent differential movements to the existing structure.

The resulting building demonstrates this relationship between new and old, emphasising the existing historic timber components where possible whilst presenting a modern open plan living space.