Crisp lines: 19th-century agricultural buildings get a makeover
In West Sussex, a family home becomes more light-filled and liveable with a beautiful new extension clad in Russwood timber.
A focus on light, form and function
People have been drawn to the mild climate and fertile soil of the West Sussex coastal plain since prehistoric times. Small villages and medieval churches still punctuate the flat landscape, with spires and the distant silhouette of Chichester Cathedral rising above endless fields. Amid this pastoral scene is a collection of 19th-century agricultural buildings that has provided a London family with a country bolthole for over 20 years. After years of hosting celebrations, and weekend guests among open skies and patchwork fields, The Barns was due a makeover.
The request was to create a modern, airy family home with a more practical layout, and the appointed architect, Randell Design Group, set about designing a home that respects the building’s agricultural and historical roots. Their blueprint also honoured the family’s wishes for a deluge of natural light and sunrise and sunset views: a built-in body clock timer that shifts with the seasons, no technology required.
Connecting old and new
Randell Design Group drew inspiration from the arrangement of the original farm buildings, reimagining the biggest structure, which would have been a traditional Dutch barn, as a one-and-a-half-storey extension. A palette of flint, slate and timber links it seamlessly with the existing structures and the local environment. Between the old and new, glazed corridors create easy transitions, maintaining transparency and flow throughout the structure.
Beyond sunrises and sunsets, the extension’s footprint captures views of the garden, the outdoor swimming pool, and the newly formed courtyard at the front of the house. It’s a predominantly timber construction, from its SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) frame to the Russwood timber cladding that covers both the walls and roof.
We opted for a lightweight, highly insulated timber frame and timber cladding approach both to reflect the historic material choices on site but also because it is a material that is durable, sustainably sourced and easily recycled.
Simon Randell, Director, Randell Design Group
A precise and refined design
While Randell Design Group wanted the new extension to occupy the original barn space, they saw an opportunity to use it as a reference point rather than direct design inspiration. Unlike traditional barns, the resulting building is pared back, sharply gabled and has a striking wrap-over roof with concealed guttering. The upstairs balcony looks carved out, rather than built in.
“The original threshing barn that once stood on this site was likely clad with horizontal timber,” explains Simon Randell. “We felt that vertical cladding provided a modern take on the cladding application, rather than literally mimicking the past structure. The design concept was not to mirror the design of the original barn but rather pay subtle reference to its functional and historic contribution to the original farmstead context.”
Cladding helps The Barns settle quietly into the landscape
The cladding Randell mentions – SILA Select® Siberian Larch in a RW014 profile – was given a Microtex® finish and coated in SiOO:X Mid Grey, to contrast with the adjacent flint and brick surfaces. Its uniform coating complements the building’s form and offers even weathering, plus protection against fungal growth.
“The cladding has performed extremely well since installation. It is naturally and evenly weathering and remaining extremely stable with no issues to date,” says Randell.
Specifier tip: While the specific cladding used at The Barns is no longer available, a similar visual effect can be achieved with our Architect Select® Larch or a thermally modified timber, of which we stock several varieties.
Sometimes it’s what you can’t see that matters
While the premium timber and SiOO:X coating make an obvious contribution to the extension’s seamless and modern appearance, our concealed fixings play an equally important, yet necessarily invisible, role.
These fixings rely on our FassadenClip® system, which allows the boards to sit cleanly without visible screws or interruptions. This method also protects the integrity of the timber’s coating, preserving the cladding’s long-term durability and the crisp aesthetic intended for the façade.
The success of the extension and its cohesion with the other buildings around the courtyard can be attributed to the skill of The Barns’ contractor, Joseph James Construction, who installed the cladding and created those sharp, clean lines.
An award-winning, sustainable home
As well as a desire to create a light-filled and beautiful family home, the client placed great importance on The Barns’ renovations having a low environmental impact. It’s close to self-sufficient in energy terms, thanks to ground – and air-source heat pumps and PV solar.
In 2025, the project was nominated for, and won, a Sussex Heritage Award, which celebrates the very best in high-quality conservation and restoration projects. Randell says the impact of our cladding was a major contributing factor in the award win, adding that the experience held within our team is one of the reasons they specify our products.
“As always, Russwood was a pleasure to deal with,” he says. “The teams’ expertise and knowledge on products give us complete peace of mind that we are putting forward the best solutions for our projects. The result is spectacular.”
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We have a limited stock of pre-conflict Siberian Larch cladding which retains its FSC and PEFC accreditation and chain of custody. We recommend Architect Select® Larch as the best alternative for achieving a similar aesthetic and high performance.
