Studio Barn
Set within a private, wooded site protected by rocky outcroppings and natural wetlands, a retreat in Rhode Island provides a renowned artist couple with a transformed space in which to create new work. Brooklyn-based architecture firm Worrell Yeung designed Studio Barn for the couple, a light-filled, highly functional art-making space out of the shell of a small, 1980s stable building on the property.
Located apart from the main house, Studio Barn sits between the woods and a clearing in the landscape. The journey between the two spaces serves as a meditative walk through a meadow around a natural vernal pool.
The original, uninsulated stable, neither historically important nor architecturally meritorious, offered Worrell Yeung a launchpad to creatively reinvent the space through the introduction of new apertures, inventive materials, and additional programs. Their first move was to strip back the existing structure to its elements: removing the eaves, stripping the trim, and creating a more abstract shape out of the stable’s elevation.
As artists, the clients were keen to capture as much diffuse natural daylight as possible. Worrell Yeung accomplished this through the introduction of a much larger, dramatic opening to the Studio Barn on the main level, an east-facing, 17’ wall of glazing can be covered at night or when not in use by a sliding shutter barn door, subtly evoking the agricultural vernacular. Above the second level, a dormer at the rear of the structure captures northern light. This also creates a double height interior space with a 21’ tall work surface.
"We eventually came to love the odd profile of the bar, with its asymmetrical gable. The removal of the cupola and the addition of the dormer added to the peculiar nature of its form and enhanced its silhouette against the landscape," said Max Worrell, co-founder and principal at Worrell Yeung.
Most prominent on the exterior, the Studio Barn is clad in black. From afar, it appears as though the architects simply painted or stained the existing wood structure, but upon closer examination, it is quickly clear there is more going on. Worrell Yeung selected a conventional, commercial-grade asphalt roofing material and wrapped it around both the top and sides of the structure. The effect is textural, almost skinlike, telegraphing the layers of and texture beneath it. Depending on the time of day and the weather conditions outside, the surface transforms and evolves. The selection is also cost-effective; instead of hard-to source (and often pricey) stone, metal, or wood traditionally deployed in a renovation of this sort, the asphalt sheets are economical, especially in the context of its application around the entire structure.
"We were in search of a single material to unify the roof and walls. A wood rainscreen would have done the job but felt too high-end and precious. At first, the owners were apprehensive about the material’s connotation with dilapidated sheds of urban decay, but we came to embrace that association as a subversion of the material and its application," shared Jejon Yeung, co-founder and Principal at Worrell Yeung.
Inside Studio Barn, the floor plan is straightforward. The ground level is open around, with utilities like a sink and water closet closed in at the center of the space. On the south side, opposite the glazed facade, a custom-built wall of cabinets made of douglas fir contain art-making materials and supplies. The north side of the building sits beneath the dormer and contains the double height space for large-scale art creation. Other walls on the ground level are covered in plaster for drawings or unfinished Homasote, a practical fiberboard known for its acoustic qualities as well as its resilience to pin-ups and other physical demands of the creative process. Simple and utilitarian materials like porcelain light sockets evenly spaced between the ceiling joists belie the complication of their seamless execution. An open stair at the center leads to a loft which serves as a part-time office and additional art-making space.
While small at under 1,300 square feet, Studio Barn serves two artists well in their pursuit of a creative retreat in which to pursue their endeavors. Through the inventive deployment of quotidian materials, streamlining of design languages, and insertion of natural light, Worrell Yeung have designed a wholly original space out of the shell of an unremarkable, existing structure.
