3166 Exterior view of the Balancing Barn (Photo by Edmund Sumner)
Studio Makkink & Bey
3166 Balancing Barn (Interior of MVRDV’s Balancing Barn), 2010
commissioned by: Living Architecture
src: http://www.studiomakkinkbey.nl/list/projects/3166_balancing_barn_suffolk
HORIZON • noun: horizon; plural noun: horizons.
1. The line at which the earth’s surface and the sky appear to meet. “the sun rose above the horizon”. 2. The circular boundary of the part of the earth’s surface visible from a particular point, ignoring irregularities and obstructions. 3. A level of an excavated site representing a particular period. “the upper horizon of the site showed an arrangement of two rows of features”.
Synonyms: skyline, range of vision, field of view, vista, view, range of experience, outlook, perspective, scope, perception, compass, sphere, ambit, orbit, purview.
Origin: Late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin horizon, from Greek horizōn (kuklos) ‘limiting (circle)’.
3166 Balancing Barn
In commission of Living Architecture, Studio Makkink & Bey was asked to create the interior of MVRDV’s Balancing Barn in Suffolk.
The Studio’s design was largely inspired by the way the Barn brings the outside inside and emphasizes the presence of both earth and sky. The interior scheme traces the transition from earth to sky as one walks from the earthbound entrance of the Barn towards the ‘levitating’ end of the building, where the floor to ceiling window offers an uninterrupted view of the clouds and sky.
Walls and floors are decorated with sampled elements of paintings by Suffolk artists John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough. The classic images gradually evolve into abstract angular colour patches becoming images reminiscent of modern art and taking on a more applied form as wall panelling.
The house can accommodate two or eight people comfortably, feeling neither empty nor crowded, thanks to customizable furniture and fittings, mostly by Dutch designers. The clear cut Dutch furnishings and primary colours, the simple ‘butt joinery’ used in the construction of the designs by Studio Makkink & Bey all celebrate the elementary design idiom that is characteristic for Dutch design.
