Broadridge

2021–

Broadridge Barn is a low carbon new build house nearing completion on the site of an existing barn within a landscape scale wilding project.

Broadridge Farm was developed in the 1930s but struggled to be productive due to the heavy drainage required to make the naturally wet and moorland suitable for agriculture.

The current owner bought the farm in 2020 with the intent to re-wild a large area of the site and wanted a house that aligned with the ethos of wilding.

Assemble were involved the design of the house and thinking strategically across the whole site and farmyard.

Broadrige Barn sits in the middle of the farm on the border between active agriculture to the west and the wilding areas to the east.

The house is designed to retain the feel of a barn, using simple expressed construction, a limited material palette, and exposed finishes.

Planning permission was achieved through Part Q permitted development rights which allow for the conversion of redundant agricultural buildings into houses and so the volume and overall form of the house were dictated by the reused timber structure of the existing timber barn.

The emphasis was on local, bio-based and regenerative materials. Timber for the project came from within 20 miles of the site; a mixture of douglas fir for the frame, larch cut into thin strips to minimise waste when machining for the cladding and ash for internal joinery.

The clay plasters that finish the internal walls were produced on site from clay from the excavation on site. Working closely with Local Works, we developed a process for processing the clay on site into a finished plaster. The resulting finish is warm and velvety in texture.