Kestle Barton, Manaccan, Cornwall

Award winning repair and conversion of Grade II and II* listed farm buildings into a gallery, apartment, studio space and three houses including detailed pre-contract feasibility work.

A rare surviving Cornish farmstead that had experienced little alteration since the 19th century. The conversion into an art gallery, artist residence and holiday cottages, involved as little change to the outside appearance as possible, retaining and repairing the unusual slotted doors and using traditional cob repair and lime renders and mortars. Roofs were finished in scantle slate, except for the Gallery, where investigations proved the roof had never been slate and a sinusoidal profiled sheet metal roof seemed appropriate to its agricultural roots. In contrast, the interiors make use of contemporary insertions, whilst the gallery contrasts its plain white walls with original cob and stone. Heating is with a central biomass boiler.