The Drift, Brent Eleigh CO10

Few, if any, agricultural conversions completed in the wilds of England possess the sensitivity and consideration of The Drift. Within the open countryside of Suffolk, this farmstead of forgotten industrial forms has undergone a loving program of innovation and adaptive reuse to create a home, more a retreat, of applaudable balance and vision.

The Drift is the work and home of the architect Marcus Lee, famed for his many brilliant projects on challenging sites from London to the Isle of Mull, and Corinna Dean, an architectural educator, urbanist and artist, and author of two editions of Slacklands; bodies of work very much pertinent to the recognition of the site's potential.

The project consists of four separate structures: a steel-framed grain-drying shed and silo, a concrete-framed Dutch barn and a 14th century Grade II listed barn. Their proximity to one another clearly presented an opportunity to the right eyes, offering the possibility of gentle unification.

Through an exercise in restraint and a mantra of low-intervention, permission under Class Q was achieved. Rather than creating something on the footprint that juxtaposes its surroundings, as is so often preferred, the conversion refreshingly retains its visual heritage. Only solar panels on the Grainshed would give away the game from above.

The result is an exemplar of environmental performance reaching passive-house levels of insulation and air-tightness without affecting breathable qualities. As a whole, the project is authentic, rustic and contemporary all at once.

Within the former grain shed, a Douglas-fir structure has been erected to form a two bedroom house. A tall, wide opening in the shed makes a dramatic first impression. The entrance is recessed within to provide a porch for seating, and storing wellies and everyday countryside gear.

Glazed doors lead inside. This is superbly arranged for open plan living; an expanse of concrete floors, triple aspect glazing and custom plywood joinery. The first half is given to the kitchen which is arranged between two islands with suspended shelving overhead. Full-height storage lines the northern wall in a concertina of plywood and conceals a door to the guest WC and shower.

Beyond the kitchen is a dining area, and living room arranged around a free standing log-burning stove. Three aspects are glazed and each zone has its own route to the outside. The view along the south is to an adjacent Dutch barn which has been retained as a loggia for external dining, wood storage, parties and more. A brick paved terrace separates the two structures. The view to the west is of the old horse pond; now a pool for natural swimming and the observation of nature from its jetty-like terrace. The bedrooms occupy the northern section of the plan; a master with en-suite bathroom, and a guest room with independent front access.

A rear winter garden, also brick paved, connects to the former grain silo. This acts like its own little house with a kitchenette, the most intimate of bedrooms and a living space that opens onto a terrace over the swimming pond. Plywood clads the lower portion of the walls and natural fibre insulation made from sisal and wool is left bare above as an honest aesthetic softening. 

Just to the north of the silo is a five-aisle medieval barn dating to the 14th century. Inside it remains in original form. Outside it takes on a more contemporary appearance thanks to the necessary addition of a new roof and for which Corten steel was chosen to great effect. It offers an excellent workshop area or indeed, the opportunity for further expansion of living spaces.

The Grainshed has underfloor heating powered by an air-source heat-pump and solar panels and the property is supplied water from its own bore hole.