The Old Byre Project | Evelyn Chatzigoula

Originally built in 1903 at Fanari, Karditsa, an old byre is renovated and transformed into a modern small house. It makes up the ground floor of a traditional house and was housing the household’s livestock and storage space. In the course of time, t was abandoned and after standing still and closed for long, now it is changing and finds a new life as a small house.

Simplicity, functionality and endurance are some of the guiding lines of the design progress, which lead to the incorporation of simple solutions at every stage, with great respect to the standing building and local tradition.

The rectangular plan is divided in two halves, creating two spaces, one for daily activities and one for night sleep, with the small kitchen and bathroom in the middle act as a buffer zone between them.

The new materials are chosen with care, in order to best compliment the old traditional construction materials of the building.

Local stone and wood are being used, familiar materials known for the endurance through time, are complimented with new ones like mortars, kοurasani and the stuccos of the walls. The new materials are chosen based to their endurance, their environmental footprint and energy efficiency through the lifetime of the house. The old masonry work and the wooden components are visible, revealing the structure of the building.

At the interior modern aesthetic and simplicity meets and combines with tradition, creating a new space. Earth and warm colors are combined with the light grey of the walls, highlighting and complementing the stone work and the wooden elements that dominate the interior. The terracotta red of the bathroom is a reference to the local traditional ceramics and the red soil of the region, revealing a deep connection with the place and the continuity in time. The old household equipment is preserved, restored and becoming a vital and vibrant part of the house, finding new life and purpose.

The livestock feeder is repurposed into a new sofa for the living room, with hidden storage compartments. The modern heater and the metal pipes for the light wires are combined with the embodied pillows, woven cloths and vintage pieces, complimenting the vibrant colors of the furniture creating a vibrant and intimate space.

The front yard is remodeled and designed, in order to be able to support outdoors activities through the year. An outdoor paved living room is created, with references to traditional village cafes. The vine and the rest cultivation are chosen from local varieties, carrying memories of the place.