For Framestudio founder Chad DeWitt, the commission for a new barn recalled the agricultural buildings of his childhood on his family’s Northern California ranch: robust, utilitarian and invariably dark. The new building would retain their sense of purpose and economy while addressing that familiar shortcoming, bringing abundant natural light into a secure working barn.
The brief called for car storage, a workshop and storage loft, along with covered accommodation for an Airstream trailer. Two simple gabled volumes were constructed using a prefabricated insulated-steel building system. Taking a cue from the Eames House, standard industrial components became the starting point for something more particular to its place and purpose.
Between the two volumes, a translucent polycarbonate roof creates a sheltered home for the Airstream, then extends through the gabled ends to wash both interiors with diffuse daylight without compromising security. Service connections allow the trailer to double as guest accommodations, while two 5,000-gallon tanks collect rainwater from the property’s roofs.
The result is deliberately economical: a familiar agricultural form elevated through light, proportion and a handful of precise architectural moves.
