This project, part of a working farm on a site overlooking the Olympic Range across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, adds a new, multi-purpose barn to the existing farm infrastructure. The barn accommodates a farm office, wood and machine shops, veterinarian space and space for a variety of large-scale equipment and machinery storage. The "L" shaped configuration of the building deflects the prevailing north-eastern winds coming off the Pacific Ocean and shelters the adjacent work yard, a square court defined by the building's facade and a tall, slatted wood fence.

This project attempts to re-deploy the timber frame tradition of the region in the service of an expressive, sculptural architecture. The resulting tectonic is dominated at an intimate scale by the linear elements of the timber frame, the wood nailers, and the cedar slats of the rolling doors. At the scale of the site, however, the building, sheathed entirely in wood shingles, is perceived as a monolithic, faceted object. In this way the "wrapped" and mysterious character of the building yields a transformed perception at different scales and from changing vantage points.

The barn is direct in its construction: the structural frame of the reclaimed Douglas fir timbers is sheathed with fir nailers and clad with cedar shingles on the walls and cedar shakes on the roof. Facing the work yard, seven slatted, 16'x9'-6" rolling cedar doors can be opened in fine weather to link the barn interior and the work yard, forming one contiguous space.

This project was completed in 1997.

The project has received a 2002 American Institute of Architects National Honor Award, a 1998 Boston Society of Architects Honor Award for Design Excellence, and a 1997 American Wood Council Wood Design Honor Award. The project was included in the June 1998 issue of Architectural Record, and the autumn 1997 issue of Wood Design and Building.

Photo Credits:

Chuck Choi Architectural Photography