Crystal Barn

Crystal barn was a novel approach to design for a client a method to gain a house under a very special clause in planning PPS7, where exception may be made for the highest quality of innovative contemporary dwelling in the countryside.

Vaughan was approach to produce such a scheme and this barn idea was crafted and not just any barn was it. A whopper with seven 'steads' or bays, three storeys and a basement, the accommodation was luxurious, commonly expected in such schemes. The barn form was chosen because of the position in the site in Norfolk, where barns are very much a landscape piece and all painted black. This was proposed to be black in the main shades, except the twist being an innovative eco-design, it was actually a glass conservatory with a house within it.

Conservatory space is shown orange, and the house pink. The basement is a blue swimming pool with gym, sauna, etc. orange adjacent.

The house is actually formed from straw bales for insulation and as it covered in glass screening, could be exposed and rendered in clay, so all aiming toward a sustainable design in a 'designer' way. It is actually coated a in a mix of glass panels, of differing opacity, depending on where the orientation is for solar gain and most of the North side has rubber coated panels including the roof.

At the apex, and utilising the client engineer expertise, the upper most triangular space normally wasted was put to work. This zone concentrates wind forces that cling and compress whistling over the ridge, so we have incorporated fans along the whole ridge to produce electricity for the residence. The site position also increased capacity so a useful amount of power was calculated.

The swimming pool acts as a thermal store where excess energy from the summer in the conservatory is transferred for winter heating.

Sustainability is enhanced as the conservatory is to supply fruit and veg all year round for the occupants and be part of the clean air system, so reducing the volume of exposure to the external air controlling heat losses through a special vent heat recovery system.

Accommodation is generous with large scale rooms throughout and all mod cons.

A practical and glitzy proposal, that puts a different spin on the barn form.

Vaughan Keal