Piertzovanis Toews

Description

Transforming an old, listed barn into a family home with their own hands and still laying the focus on architectural quality has become an intense yet rewarding journey for both the owner and the architects. Located in a village surrounded by vineyards of Riesling and Chardonnay, the barn grew into an ensemble around an old mill from the 18th century, characterised by thick stone walls, oak framework and clay roof tiles. The new bedrooms are located at the two far ends of the L-shaped room under the huge roof, leaving the big central space completely open. This former hayloft retains its height differences and the warped roof trusses. It now accommodates four differently coloured inner «houses»:  the yellow loggia, an inside-out glass house; the green kitchen on the lower level; the pale red staircase; and the glazed lilac walkway to the courtyard. Natural light fills the space mainly through the new skylight that stretches the whole length of the building. Inner windows, larger than the former openings, allow the rough old brickwork to become part of the interior atmosphere. Other than the heating and the windows, every single step was carried out by the owners themselves based on carefully prepared, illustrated step-by-step manuals. The project celebrates handcraft, highlighting the building’s irregularities and cracks shaped by time and human hands.