Barns : living in converted and reinvented spaces

The enduring symbols of a vibrant rural past, barns have become the heart and bones of a new generation of imaginative country houses that are the home of choice for those wanting to combine rural traditions and natural landscape with new architecture and unconventional layouts.

Through a collection of some of the most stunning yet sympathetic contemporary conversions and new-builds in the UK, USA and Europe, "Barns" explores how architects are using and rethinking these alluring and escapist buildings.

It celebrates the use of new and sometimes unexpected materials within such traditional frameworks, and highlights the appeal of vernacular architecture, which is encouraging many architects to look again at materials such as thatch, wood and straw for new buildings.

Above all, "Barns" illustrates how, attracted by the space and scale that offers the potential for shaping interiors with individuality, today's architects are achieving new and innovative ways of dividing and ordering space. At the same time, drawn by the natural integrity and rustic charm of these structures, they are employing design principles that ensure they continue to complement and blend with the landscape in which they are set.