BARNREDUXADU is a barn recast as a guest cottage and studio, serving as an Accessory Dwelling Unit on the grounds of House SIX. The original structure, designed by EASTON COMBS to serve animal husbandry functions adjacent to a small grazing acreage, is repositioned through interior transformation while its exterior presence remains entirely unchanged. The barn retains its utilitarian character as a quiet object in the landscape, settled into the meadow slope just south and east of the main house.
The intervention is primarily interior: a set of flexible spaces organized around the core functions of a guest house and studio, conceived with utility and social life in mind. The original breezeway is preserved and recast as a convertible interior zone, with large glass pivot windows that allow the kitchenette bar to extend outward and open fully to the exterior, making the primary social event of the guest house a true inside-outside experience. The series of Dutch barn doors along the southeast façade, original to the design, are maintained as central to the structure’s agricultural identity.
The material palette of the intervention reads as distinctly new, marking a clear distinction between the original barn and its transformation, while grounding the interior in a warm, utilitarian sensibility that is simultaneously rustic and contemporary.
BARNREDUXADU extends the performance mission of House SIX through robust, durable systems and a high-performance building envelope. Healthy insulation strategies, energy-efficient windows and doors, and an all-electric compact water-to-water heat pump system support efficient heating and cooling throughout. The approximately 26’ × 65’ roof, originally oriented for maximum solar exposure, now carries a substantial photovoltaic array, enabling net-zero performance for the property as a whole.
Photography: EASTON COMBS (models)
Consultants:
Forthcoming
General Contracting: Eric Zahn Builders, LLC.
