Market garden homestead development

We were approached to design the infrastructure for a new market garden in North Somerset.  We developed plans to include a striking traditionally built timber framed barn and a packing and storage building for produce, to be built as a straw bale building with living roof. We aimed to create structures that sat sensitively within the undulating landscape, and that were eye-catching, yet practical, functional spaces.

We also designed access track, hard standing areas, and polytunnel locations whilst considering the future development of the farm, and successfully applied for Prior Approval for the development.  Our clients have since gained planning for a dwelling on the site.

The barn was built using an entirely roundwood frame, using the traditional Norwegian framing technique or ‘Grindbygg’, adapted by Rich Andersen, who led the frame build, to include some British roundwood framing elements. The framing technique uses mainly axes and chainsaws to create innovative joints held in place by wedges and pegs. The roof is curved at the ridge and eaves, softening this impressively large building.

The packing building was constructed as a hybrid straw bale building using locally sourced bales, clay plaster internally all sourced from the excavations for the foundations, and clad with locally sourced larch cladding. The living roof utilised earth sourced from the site.