Concept, Design & Process
After completing our award-winning townhouses for the Spring Oak Community, their board asked us to complete an accompanying amenity building. We set out to complement the newly constructed townhomes through the refurbishment of an old-style cattle barn. We maintained the integrity of the barn and the agricultural feel of the building by preserving portions of its stone walls, and invoked a rustic style throughout via heavy timber construction.
The interest that old structures bring to an area should not be underestimated. Repurposing older buildings is almost always worth it, despite any extra challenges they may cause. Throughout the construction process, we met several times with the township’s historic commission; working diligently to preserve the building’s historic integrity while bringing it up to code.
The concept of a bank barn transitions nicely into a community center. Like all bank barns, this one was built into a hill. From the parking lot, one accesses the upper level, which houses a community room and kitchen for entertaining. On the lower level, community members enjoy a fitness center with locker rooms and access to the pool outside. Nearby stands an old springhouse that we transformed into a café with outdoor seating.
