BARN CONVERSION, OXFORD

Creating low carbon contemporary offices from farm buildings requires a rather specialist skill set.

For instance, one office has a fully glazed south facing facade (originally open-frontage cart sheds). Whilst this is a beautiful feature, the summertime overheating is immense and would normally necessitate cooling by air conditioning. This was avoided by a carefully designed garden pergola – ensuring that the peak summer sun cannot hit the glass and overheat the building. Ground source heating, with a reverse cycle also helps to cool the buildings in summer.

The resulting aesthetic of crisp modern offices, within heritage structures and a countryside setting never fails to work.