these beautifully crafted structures roughened and enhanced by time. D Daavviidd
LLiittttlleeffiieelldd describes the pilot project in Lower Wharfedale, near Skipton, in
which a timber pod has been created to provide basic accommodation for
holidaymakers seeking a countryside break close to nature.
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), the little timber insertion in this hillside building certainly adheres to the maxim that architects should ‘complement not parody’ elderly structures: ‘New work should express modern needs in a modern language … if an addition proves essential, it should not be made to do or out-last the original,’ says the society. It also insists that contemporary designers show a decent respect for the beauty that comes with age, and that ‘bulging, bowing, sagging and leaning’ are qualities to be cared for rather than ‘blemishes to be eradicated’. The barn now undergoing the attentions of Feilden Clegg Bradley certainly has its blemishes; it is a sturdy hillside mass of masonry, very definitely assembled without the
assistance of an architect, within which the pod perches almost politely. Like Antonello da Messina’s 15th-century depiction of St Jerome in his Study, the temporary insertion is more like a piece of architectural furniture, although with less capacious surroundings than the saint.
The two-storey pod occupies just one end of the barn, leaving the shippon end (with its long-degraded cattle stalls) virtually untouched.
Resting on pads, it shrinks away from the walls. It threads itself through the rafters and other timberwork of the original building; the pod’s primary window is aligned with that of the barn but, as in the best traditions of lap dancing, there is a strict ‘no touching’ rule. For all its clean lines, machine-cut right angles and polycarbonate panels, the pod is highly deferential; through the power of contrast its clean, flat surfaces amplify the colours and textures of its host.
This project, paid for by grants and the architects’ own research fund, may be short-lived. Having been awarded planning permission for just one year, the practice will monitor the performance of the
structure and assess its suitability for public use before determining its long-term future with the landowner, the Bolton Abbey Estate. Once the lessons have been learned, it is perfectly plausible that this pod will come to be dismantled, leaving the barn better off for its having been there (a nearby drystone wall has been rebuilt and many years’
worth of accreted muck have been cleared from the interior). But apart from the architectural merits of the structure, the real future of the project lies in the potential of its business case. If the number of pods
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, The Feildbarn, Lower Wharfedale, Yorkshire, UK, 2009 opposite: One of more than 4,000 field barns in the Yorkshire Dales, this building is the subject of Feilden Clegg Bradley’s regeneration pilot study.
this page: Isolated from running water and power, the ‘pod’ inside the barn will be serviced by an ‘eco-trailer’ connected to the barn via an ‘umbilical cord’.
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Original timbers, of indeterminate age, are left as reminders of the building’s agricultural use. The new cantilevered platform, on which the ladder rests, can be seen in the background.
Model of the pod. The insertion is custom-designed for this particular barn, and sits within it like a piece of architectural furniture.
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Antonello da Messina, Saint Jerome in his Study, c 1475. Oil on panel, 45.7 x 36.2 cm; National Gallery, London Like the structure depicted in Antonello da Messina’s image of Saint Jerome in his Study, painted around 1475, Feilden Clegg Bradley’s work fits into the field barn like a piece of architectural furniture. The materiality and architectural languages of insert and ‘host’ are different, and one can imagine the insertion being removed without any damage to the building itself.
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, The Feildbarn, Lower Wharfedale, Yorkshire, UK, 2009 The upper-level sleeping quarters are accessed by ladder only. The new structure is positioned between the timbers of the original barn structure.
is to expand, they need to be cheap and simple to erect to make them worthwhile for landowners; and although the pilot already seems highly promising in both these respects, farmers need to be persuaded of the merits of conservation and diversifying into the tourist market.
Although it is no easy task, Feilden Clegg Bradley certainly presents a compelling case through the simplicity and integrity of the project, but this begs a question of its own. Just how simple should the pod be?
The pilot structure is deliberately low tech: a modest kitchen unit is concealed behind ground-floor cupboard doors, while reaching the first-storey bedroom (insulated with sheep’s wool) requires climbing a hefty ladder.
Although equipped with a WC and shower, the pod is decidedly basic, offering an exciting alternative to the comforts of bed-and-breakfast accommodation and the back-to-nature frisson of camping. Plans are afoot to develop the concept for family living; when the design
team presented the project to an invited group of architects and engineers, a member of the audience suggested the pod lacked the luxuries and ‘bling’ expected by today’s weekenders. Surely, though, that is the point of this exercise? Feilden Clegg Bradley is
attempting to rescue these field barns and celebrate them for what they are. A root and branch transformation is hardly the spirit of the thing. The pod has all the attributes (and romance) of a hayloft, and one can only hope the architects resist the temptation to gild what should remain ungilded. 4+
David Littlefield is an architectural writer. He has written and edited a number of books, including Architectural Voices: Listening to Old Buildings, published by John Wiley & Sons (October 2007). He was also the curator of the exhibition ‘Unseen Hands: 100 Years of Structural Engineering’, which ran at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2008. He has taught at Chelsea College of Art & Design and the University of Bath, and is currently a visiting tutor at the University of the West of England.
Text © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Images: Images: pp 114-15, 116(t&bl) © David Littlefield; p 116(br) © National Gallery, London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library;
pp 116(cl), 117 © Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios Composite image showing what a larger, family-sized
pod might look like (left), and the pod as built (right).
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