Transformation of a Protected Barn by Simon Durand Architecte: Reviving Heritage with Contemporary Design

Preserving Heritage Through Adaptive Reuse

The Transformation of a Protected Barn by Simon Durand architecte in Cottens, Switzerland, showcases how contemporary architecture can coexist with historic structures. This project exemplifies adaptive reuse, breathing new life into a 17th-century agricultural barn while preserving its identity and cultural significance.

Within a building where no line runs straight, the architect introduced a wooden box with fully glazed facades, designed as a self-contained apartment. This intervention respects the barn’s original framework while giving it a new purpose as a modern dwelling.

Balancing Old and New

The design approach carefully echoes traditional Swiss agricultural construction while reinterpreting architectural archetypes for residential use. The barn’s massive wooden frame remains the centerpiece, enhanced by a glazed inner structure that stands back 4 meters from the original envelope.

This deliberate offset creates covered terraces and in-between spaces that extend the living area, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor life. These sheltered zones provide flexible spaces for relaxation, gardening, or seasonal gatherings, reinforcing the barn’s role as a dynamic living environment.

Spatial Experience: Between Interior and Exterior

The apartment revolves around two distinct levels:

The main living space, with a ceiling height of 3.15 meters, accessed via a newly built external bridge. This space feels expansive and open, ideal for social life.
The lower floor, with a more intimate height of 2.09 meters, designed to foster privacy and comfort.

When the sliding windows are opened, the dwelling transforms into a hybrid environment—neither fully inside nor entirely outside. This fluidity allows the space to adapt with the changing seasons and daily rhythms.

Light, Transparency, and Historical Frame

One of the project’s most striking features is its interaction with light. Natural daylight filters through the glass facades, revealing the barn’s original wooden frame while creating shifting atmospheres throughout the day. From the outside, only subtle glass reflections hint at the transformation within, allowing the barn’s historical presence to remain dominant in the rural landscape.

The bedrooms are positioned further back, concealed behind a large timber facade yet still connected to the terraces. At the heart of the design, the bathroom occupies a reimagined “terminal”—a trapezoidal vertical shaft traditionally used to dry food. This element now opens onto a window, once again exposing the historical framework and merging the old with the new.

Flexibility and Movement

The barn is not a static structure but a fluid and flexible living space. The kitchen is mobile, able to shift based on need. The stair hatch folds down to create new spatial connections. The barn’s design reflects a living architecture, one that responds to the seasons, the residents’ habits, and the environment.

A Dialogue Between Past and Present

The Transformation of a Protected Barn is a powerful example of how architecture can bridge heritage and modernity. By preserving the 17th-century wooden frame and introducing a minimal yet expressive glazed structure, Simon Durand architecte creates a dialogue between the past and the present.

The result is a home of unexpected proportions, where historic materials and contemporary design intersect, and where the boundaries of inside and outside dissolve into new possibilities.