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The Model Project
It was part of the BarnCulture project to explore trade-offs between new functions and built heritage protection. All three national teams had the task to come up with a proposal how to convert a large barn space to allow humans to stay in it during the cold period of the year and at the same time respecting the original surfaces and the overall look of the building. For this purpose an existing timber barn was selected as the "Model barn".
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The task was to design a creative and aesthetically appealing solution for this "barn hall". The criteria were defined as it follows:
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a solution enabling for people to feel comfortable in the space during cold weather
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this can involve insulation and heating solutions and anything else if applicable
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a solution to keep the feeling of the original barn space as much as possible, such as
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keep the original surface visible,
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keep the structure visible,
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keep the large space visible,
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a solution that remains in place over the whole year or can be easily removed
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if removable, the removal process shouldn’t take more than a few hours, should be possible without involving heavy machinery and should be storable in a significantly smaller space than the Barn Hall
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if not removable, it has to be shrinkable, hidable while,
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if it keeps the Barn Hall’s feel extremely well, it can remain in the space without modification during the whole year
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a solution that doesn’t or just very moderately changes the outside look of the barn
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since the barn’s wooden structure is in its original state, traditional solutions or those looking as or using traditional solutions are welcome
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it is a preference to work out solutions which are
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nature friendly
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cheap or at least affordable for middle class people
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a solution to provide some level of sound insulation to improve the comfort of the neighbourhood while loud music is on. If the solution can fulfil this purpose, it will be appreciated but this is not a strict requirement.
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The three national proposals had significantly different approaches: one covered the building from inside, one from outside and one chose insulation between the timbers without covering the walls.
The high resolution posters of the national entries can be opened in four languages below:
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The project constructed
From the three proposals the owner of the barn chose the Transylvanian entry which didnt’ cover the walls for insulation and provided a transparent ceiling to keep the visual contact with the spatious attic area.
The southern gate
Before
After
A wooden frame holding plexiglass windows and a wooden door was built in the southern gate. It’s purpose is to stop the cold air coming into the barn’s space but allow the light to enter. The wooden frame was painted and cured to fit the surrounding structure. The frame consists of three like sized sections which can be removed and rebuilt just with the help of a screwdriver by one or two unskilled people. Insulation around the frame is wool as in the rest of the walls, presented below.
The northern gate
A rug-curtain wall was constructed at the northern gate to stop cold breeze coming in to the barn. It was made of 21 m of locally handwoven rugs made of unused clothes’ textile thus a brilliant example of reuse/recycle of existing, locally available material. The rugs were hung from wooden haystack-pole, which were traditionally stored in barns - another example of reuse/recycle. It can be easily removed for the summer and each rug can be washed in a washing machine and reapplied easily.
Walls
Walls were sealed with natural wool. This material was locally sourced, and it was cured against insects and fire damage, which is one of the green solutions in this project. The wool is easy to apply, its very satisfactory to work with it, can be done by unskilled workers, even by children. For these huge walls only a small amount is necessary thus its super affordable and nature friendly. This insulation doesn’t need to be removed during the summer period, it stays in place all year long.
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After
Ceiling, heating
Long dark-infrared-heaters were hanged from the wood structure of the ceiling which provide just enough heat for an event. They don't emit infrared light nor they generate noise as hot air blowers do which both can be disturbing during performances.
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The ceiling was built in a different way than proposed: no planks and foldable structures were used, instead, foil type materials were applied on wooden haystack-poles. The reason for this change is that at the beginning of the building process it turned out that in one corner three timbers were structurally weak because of insect damage, Therefore, the heavy foldable ceiling has to be avoided. Instead, a patchwork of transparent foils and semi-transparent sun-sails were used. These are not only lightweight materials but provide air insulation and allow the light to enter from the attic area and at the same time enable the visual contact to the attic. They can easily be removed and reapplied, and are easy to wash. Sun-sails can be used during the summer period outside the barn. Its actual disadvantage is that a big surface of plastic appears in the barn’s natural space but on the other hand walls are completely intact and the space feeling is maintained. This is the biggest trade-off in the case of this solution.
