Crawshaw Architects has given a new twist to traditional library architecture with this re-invented out-building in Dorset, UK. Adjoining a Grade II-listed Georgian farmhouse and water mill, the new library is housed within a transformed former cowshed and farm equipment store. Architect Aidan Crawshaw, the London-based studio’s founder, was commissioned to transform a substantial portion of this long brick building into a library and office space, with the intention on creating a home for a substantial collection of historic books on Palladian architecture.
Crawshaw, working with his colleague Pandora Dourmisi, chose to preserve the proportions and form of the original farm building. The library is based around a long central arched nave flanked by a pair of aisles containing the book stacks, a modern interpretation of classical proportions. These not only reference the Palladian book collection but were constructed using carpentry and metal-working methods that hark back to the building’s days as part of a working farm.
The entire interior has been built using traditional oak joinery techniques
The internal volume was increased by removing a few original trusses and replacing them with new equivalents, as well as digging down to increase the ceiling height. Three new roof-lights allow daylight to cascade down into the stacks and modulate the depth perception of the room.
At one end, the new office retains the original pitch of the roof, while a perfectly symmetrical French door with arched fanlight sets up a vista back down the length of the library.
The new office space contains a substantial part of the book collection
The solid oak arches and columns used throughout are slender and elegant, with the vertical columns forming part of two reading desks and a low bench. The oak is paired with black steel external windows and simple white painted walls. A new kitchen has been added adjacent to the entrance hall and the detailing throughout is meticulous but modest, with new joinery paired with antique fixtures and fittings from the client’s collection.
Looking back down through the new library from the office space
From the outside, the cowshed retains its original character, offering little hint of the treasures contained within. This is a small jewel of a building, with its emphasis on minimalist craft, natural materials and perfect geometry evoking the grandeur and atmosphere of a much larger space.
INFORMATION
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlightFor more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his must. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
-
This nostalgic exhibition dives into a century of British surfingCornwall's National Maritime Museum charts the history of waveriding on England's south coast
-
Waiheke Island is a must-visit for oenophiles and aesthetes alikeDiscover what to do during this New Zealand destination's annual Walking Festival and beyond
-
Showing off its gargoyles and curves, The Gradel Quadrangles opens in OxfordThe Gradel Quadrangles, designed by David Kohn Architects, brings a touch of playfulness to Oxford through a modern interpretation of historical architecture
-
A Norfolk bungalow has been transformed through a deft sculptural remodellingNorth Sea East Wood is the radical overhaul of a Norfolk bungalow, designed to open up the property to sea and garden views
-
A new concrete extension opens up this Stoke Newington house to its gardenArchitects Bindloss Dawes' concrete extension has brought a considered material palette to this elegant Victorian family house
-
A former garage is transformed into a compact but multifunctional spaceA multifunctional, compact house by Francesco Pierazzi is created through a unique spatial arrangement in the heart of the Surrey countryside
-
A 1960s North London townhouse deftly makes the transition to the 21st CenturyThanks to a sensitive redesign by Studio Hagen Hall, this midcentury gem in Hampstead is now a sustainable powerhouse.
-
Manchester United and Foster + Partners to build a new stadium: ‘Arguably the largest public space in the world’The football club will spend £2 billion on the ambitious project, which co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has described as the ‘world's greatest football stadium’
-
'Bold and unapologetic', this contemporary Wimbledon home replaces a 1970s house on siteThis grey-brick Wimbledon home by McLaren Excell is a pairing of brick and concrete, designed to be mysterious
-
The little-known story of Welsh modernism'Cabin Crew', a new book published this spring by The Modernist, brings the spotlight to Cardiff-based practice Hird & Brooks
