Il progetto trae ispirazione dai granai e dalle cosiddette “case pendenti” di Amsterdam.
Vista dalla strada, l’abitazione sembra essere una tradizionale residenza con camino e tetto spiovente. Avvicinandosi, si scopre invece l’originalità di una architettura che intende capovolgere il concetto di casa vacanza. Lunga 30 metri, la struttura si sviluppa per metà a sbalzo su un avvallamento del terreno. Le pareti vetrate sulla facciata spinta nel vuoto offrono una visuale continua su alberi, verde e laghi che disegnano il paesaggio circostante.
Il rivestimento in tessere di acciaio riflettente consente una trasformazione continua dell’abitazione che assume di volta in volta i diversi colori delle stagioni. Metà del lato più lungo della struttura è invece nascosta tra gli alberi. Ne risulta in tal modo una parziale mimetizzazione nel paesaggio.
The Balancing Barn accoglie una cucina, un’ampia zona giorno, e quattro camere da letto matrimoniali, ciascuna con il proprio bagno. Al centro dell’abitazione una scala a scomparsa consente l’accesso al giardino sottostante.
Designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV, who are celebrated for the playfulness and comfort of their designs, The Balancing Barn takes its shape and inspiration from neighbouring local barns as well as the ‘hanging houses’ in Amsterdam. It is sited 3 miles from the ancient village of Walberswick on the Suffolk Heritage Coast.
From the road, the house appears to be a traditional domestic dwelling with a chimney and a pitched roof. However, in an effort to overturn the cliché of a holiday home, the whole building is in fact 30 metres long and dramatically cantilevers over a dip in the ground to the rear, thrusting the barn into the surrounding landscape and providing wide views from its huge panoramic windows.
By concealing the long sides of the barn with trees and covering the exterior in reflective steel tiles, the house changes throughout the year, taking on the different hues of the seasons. The barn thus becomes part of this stunning Suffolk nature reserve, celebrating the local landscape.
Inside the house is a kitchen, dining area and a series of four double bedrooms, each with separate bathrooms. In the very centre of the barn lies a hidden staircase with access to the garden beneath. All rooms have full height sliding windows, roof lights and a glass floor.
The walls and floor coverings are decorated with paintings by Constable and Gainsborough, both Suffolk artists, that have been sampled and manipulated by celebrated Dutch design Jurgen Bey. Bey has also made some bespoke items of furniture for the house, and has put together a collection of beautiful chairs, tables, sofas and lamps by leading contemporary Dutch designers.
Project Team:
• Architect: MVRDV
• Executive Architect: Mole Architects
• Contractor: O Seaman & Son Ltd
• Structural Engineer: Jane Wernick Associates
• Quantity Surveyors: Boyden Group LLP
• Clerk of Works: Steve Foot, Techs Project Management
Living Architecture partners at the Balancing Barn:
* Kitchen appliances provided by Miele UK
* Kitchen equipment provided by David Mellor Design
* Bed linen by Peter Reed luxury linen
* Artwork in collaboration with Colchester and Ipswich museum and Huntington Collection