Transformation Of A Protected Barn

Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo

Transformation Of A Protected Barn

Simon Durand Architecte

CARPENTER
Barras Construction Bois

JOINERY
Kreation Artisanale

METALWORK
Ironwheel

GLAZING
André S

PHOTOGRAPHS
Alan Hasoo

AREA
110 M²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
Cottens, Switzerland

CATEGORY
Houses, Renovation

Inside an old 17th-century barn in which no line is straight, a wooden box with fully glazed facades takes place to accommodate a new apartment.

Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo

The contemporary intervention constantly echoes the traditional Swiss agricultural constructions, reinterpreting some of their archetypes, diverting them from their primary use to generate a surprising dwelling, with unusual proportions, which revolves entirely around the enhancement of the historical wooden frame.

Set back from the original envelope by 4m, the glazed box leaves on either side vast covered terraces, and intermediate spaces to invest, between the new apartment and the outdoor gardens.

The main space, 3.15m high, is made accessible by the new barn bridge on the outside.

Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo

Below, a lower space, 2.09m high, generates a welcome intimacy.

When the sliding windows are open, the space expands to become this hybrid place that is neither completely interior nor completely exterior.

Further back in the barn, behind a large wooden facade hide the bedrooms which also open onto the covered terraces.

Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo

The bathroom, in the center, is covered with a "terminal", a typical trapezoidal vertical space previously used to dry food.

Here, it ends with a window that opens and once again reveals the historical framework.

The space is fluid, and opens and closes, according to the seasons and uses.

Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo

The kitchen, mobile, moves. The stair hatch folds down.

The light seeps through the panes of glass which alone betray from the outside the presence of a project in this old barn.

The encounter between the historic and the modern construction creates spaces of unexpected proportions, with changing light, in which the inside and the outside sometimes mix, multiplying the possibilities.

Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo


Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
© Alan Hasoo


Transformation Of A Protected Barn
North facade
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
South facade
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
Interior facade


Transformation Of A Protected Barn
Cross section
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
Long section
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
Floor plan level 1
Transformation Of A Protected Barn
Floor plan level 2