With the intention to absolutely seize the essence of South Barn, the house of Studio Weave observe founder Je Ahn, you will need to perceive his start line. ‘It [is a project that] ties to concepts of flexibility, consolation and looseness – in the end, having the belief and confidence to be relaxed in regards to the consequence,’ he instructed us in 2025, once we interviewed him a few constructing that made him smile, as he was finishing the undertaking.
It’s this angle of effortlessness, and on the similar time luxurious, that permeates this small however completely shaped undertaking, set on the UK‘s Isle of Wight, close to the city of Cowes.
(Picture credit score: Lorenzo Zandri)
(Picture credit score: Lorenzo Zandri)
Discover South Barn by Studio Weave
The undertaking got here to be when Ahn had the chance to accumulate an current barn inside a working farm – a comparatively modest constructing of 158 sq m. He determined to snap it up for his personal private escape, and launched into redesigning it to remodel it right into a pared-down retreat – as utilitarian and uncooked as they arrive, but no much less lush and charming.
Ahn recalled on the time: ‘The funds was restricted, however the undertaking had an inherent sense of luxurious in that I used to be within the uncommon place of being my very own shopper, so I might reply extra nimbly and on to undertaking calls for, resembling the location’s situations, market pricing and contractor capability.’
(Picture credit score: Lorenzo Zandri)
(Picture credit score: Lorenzo Zandri)
The Studio Weave staff developed the undertaking with nice respect for the prevailing construction and its 50-plus-year-old material. Most of the unique supplies have been stored, typically left uncovered, and solely repaired to make sure they’re aligned with Twenty first-century habitation. Minimal total adjustments have been made, making certain the brand new home feels prefer it’s at all times been there, a real celebration of its agricultural context and constructing integrity.
A big open-plan kitchen and dwelling space, that includes giant home windows, is the undisputed coronary heart of the house. Off it, a small hall results in three bedrooms. Meticulous detailing and craftwork deliver the material again to life – all finished in collaboration with maker Mike at Imphouse and his staff. The panorama was additionally an necessary collaborative work, produced along with Tom Massey Studio.
(Picture credit score: Lorenzo Zandri)
(Picture credit score: Lorenzo Zandri)
Ahn says: ‘You can’t design the texture of an aged constructing – we knew it was necessary to retain the weather which expressed the passing of time. Studio Weave’s goal is to open up the constructing, each virtually and metaphorically – making South Barn extra accessible to the brand new inhabitants.
‘The idea of “deep reuse” informs the design – we repurpose supplies we now have discovered on web site, each [for] their narrative and sensible worth, in rebuilding this agricultural constructing. We additionally perceive the significance of understanding the way in which folks dwell – this undertaking makes a backdrop for folks’s lives.’
