Barn Raising

A symbol of the pastoral, the barn appears on the American landscape as a simple yet immediately recognizable form. There is something minimal — almost modern — manifest in a barn’s rusticity; Robert Young Architects engage this quality in their work, imbuing even the sleekest designs with a respect for tradition and craftsmanship.

Barn-raising, as a process, is both technical and meaningful. Historically a community project, the act of construction anchors its builders to the land. Robert Young Architects participated directly in this vernacular tradition, designing a separate barn structure for a private home – the Twachtman House, a historic residence in Greenwich, Connecticut.

RYA rehabilitated the original integrity of the house’s Georgian architecture, and incorporated a contemporary addition. The barn structure, which operates as a garage, contrasts sharply with both the traditional forms of the Chateau as well as the glass interventions.

RYA considered how best to reinterpret the classic form of a barn in a contemporary way, providing programmatic needs in inventive ways. Working alongside Great Country Timber Frames, they raised a new kind of barn.