BlueSky Barn Norwich, Norfolk home, 31/44 Architects, East England Architecture Photos
BlueSky Barn Norwich, Norfolk
30 May 2022
Design: 31/44 Architects with Taylor Made Space
Location: Church Farm, north west Norwich, Norfolk, southeast England, UK

Photos by Nick Dearden
BlueSky Barn in Norfolk is one of 17 projects which received a 2022 RIBA East Award.
BlueSky Barn at Church Farm, near Norwich
Jury Report
Blue Sky Barn has a split personality: on the one hand it embodies a fantasy, luxurious weekend house, evoking the emancipation and excitement of a family holiday, complete with transplanted ancient olive tree. On the other hand, a deeper engagement with the place reveals itself: the father of one of the clients was the vicar of the church next door and the project itself takes on and gently subverts the modern steel-framed barn of the farm which forms the neighbour on the other side. What started out as a weekend house has become, over the Covid crisis, a permanent family home, and the design has been able to adapt and mature to support that shift from fantasy to everyday living.
The steel frame of the original agricultural building and more importantly, its striking enclosed volume have been used to create the new house. The desire to maintain an inscrutable character to the outside has led to some engaging and unusual design strategies. The scale of spaces sometimes surprises, as does the ?jump cut? of elements and volumes that are not often seen together, particu...