The Barn
Paul Uhlmann Architects evolve a brief for a weekender influenced by the American-style barn into a highly resolved and engaging building located in a rural Queensland setting.
Architecture: Paul Uhlmann Architects
Photography: Andy Macpherson Studio
Architecture
Paul Uhlmann Architects
Paul Uhlmann Architects provides a personalized service from a team of dedicated design professionals, who are committed to fulfilling the client’s individual needs. Not dictated to by any particular style or fashion, the practice realizes projects ranging from residences along the east coast of Australia, to resort and residential projects in China, Sri Lanka & Fiji.Well recognized for their distinctive architectural forms, Paul Uhlmann Architects are no strangers to fulfilling a client’s individual requirements for a home. The Barn is a perfect example of the firm’s commitment to creating “diverse and expressive responses” reflective of those who inhabit them.
Having spent time in the USA, the clients of this project developed an appreciation for the local architecture and desired a rural weekender influenced by the American-style barn. Through a thorough design process with Paul and his team, the brief evolved to reflect the rural, Australian backdrop and the surrounding bush environment.
AN AUSTRALIAN INTERPRETATION OF AN AMERICAN BARN
The story behind the design
The form of barns and rural buildings are innately utilitarian; built at an economic rate and featuring large volumes that cater for storing equipment and livestock. “This building used the simple form of a large rural building and reinterpreted the edges of the building with a rounded roof, sliding hardwood screens and a huge glazed end section”, explains Paul.
To refine the practical shed form, the architects introduced a feminine curve to the roofline instead of a traditional, sloping gable. This detail elevated the design integrity of the exterior and resulted in voluminous, light-filled interiors.
Paul and his team developed the building’s aesthetic to be in keeping with the Australian bush landscape. “The materials selected were envisaged to fade into the grey bushland backdrop”, says Paul. “The rawness reflected its rural location and desire to live in a space that has a rough handmade quality.”
Silver hardwood cladding dressed the outside of the building and zincalumane corrugated sheeting, a quintessentially Australian material, wrapped the curvaceous roof. Both materials will patina over time, aging gracefully and blending in with the surrounding foliage.
The materials selected were envisaged to fade into the grey bushland backdrop. The rawness reflected its rural location and desire to live in a space that has a rough unmade quality.
Paul Uhlmann
A RURAL SOPHISTICATED AESTHETIC
Take a Look Closer
Inside, there is a sense of sparsity one might expect from a utilitarian shed. However, the verticals clad in finely band-sawn and oiled timber linings inject warmth and refinement to the space. Bringing relief to the interior’s palette and remaining true to the barn style is natural stone. “The Chalford Limestone was chosen for the surface texture variation and change of color over the expansive floor”, explains Paul.
“There is a rural sophisticated feel to the stone flooring. Having an earthy floor was an important part of the natural material selection.” Emphasizing the rural aesthetic, a generous fireplace clad in Korora Freeform stone graces the barn’s living area. The use of the Korora continues out in the landscape to offer visual continuity.
Fittings & Fixtures
Chandeliers
Milton Lighting Antler Chandeliers
SCONCE
Delta Light 'Inlite Tiga'
Timber Cladding
Oild Hardwood
KITCHEN SINK
Belfast Farmhouse Sink
Signature Element
The quality of the natural timber hardwood cladding and the Chalford Limestone flooring elevated the design of The Barn. Together the materials provide warmth and sophistication customary of such a resolved architectural form, yet coupled with the rawness and durability one would expect from an Australian barn-style shed.
With a significant amount of carpentry required throughout the interior and exterior of the building, superior workmanship was a integral element of the build. “The quality of CGH Constructions played an important part in the success of the building,” explains Paul who describes combining the recycled hardwood and the building’s steel members was one of the main structural challenges faced.
The rural bush setting, while incredibly beautiful, also posed environmental challenges, explains Paul. Bushfire, flood and ecological concerns were all overcome throughout the design process. The result – a highly resolved and distinguished rural escape that seamlessly combines American influences with a quintessentially Australian aesthetic.