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Central Drive Bay (Timberbee)

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

Genesis

The Owner's Desire was for a 3 Bay, 4 Bent, "New England Carriage Barn", in addition, it was to have a Central Drive-Through Aisle which was tall enough to accommodate The husband's Van, fully loaded with Ladders, the lofts, on either side, to be accessible from the center Aisle.

One of the bays was to be fully open to the Central Aisle, as well, the other was to have a raised, wooden floor, and to be enclosed; It would be used as a shop. A stairway was also to the loft was also to be included, placed within the "Shop" Bay.

There were no conditions as to the Volume of the loft, or Overall, Length, Width and Height of the Building.

Desire and Need

The Desire was for a "New England Barn", that it should be in keeping with the surrounding styles, and, further, that it should look, to the passerby, as though it had always sat there, as if only the house were the Contemporary Addition.

The Need revolved around the concerns of the business. The Husband was an electrician, and required storage, and a workshop. For greatest ease, efficiency, clear and simple access to both storage and workshop to a vehicle was desired, but this should not compromise either.

A Solution

The desire for a "New England Carriage Barn", seemed to instantly solve all of the Conditions -- the Desires and Needs -- posed by the Clients, with a minimal of compromises, It offered;

  • A central Drive-Through bay
  • Lofts accessible from the central Bay
  • High Volume within the lofts; due to it's Drop Tie Construction, which provided for a substantial Knee wall -- approximately 5' tall.
  • It's Geometry, and overall look, was very much in keeping with the Older, local Barns.
  • It fit the site conditions
  • Adding a raised, wooden floor, to one bay offered no outstanding design challenges, further, A recessed, Arched Entry way -- which the owner later wished added, with a large "Picture" window, was also able to be added, surprisingly, though this addition differed Markedly with local structures, it blended well, looking only as if the barn had been "Retrofitted", which, in fact, it was.

The Design

The design of the Barn was, almost entirely, a Local, Traditional, Square Rule Design.

It employed a; * Queen Post Truss, with Common Rafters * Dropped and Double Tie * Built in Ladder * Intermediate Post, below the Lower, Main Tie * Girts, rather than studs, for the local convention was for Vertical, rather than Horizontal Siding on Barns.

It was a very simple, and straight forward Structure

Assumptions

I was to learn, upon the Barns completion, that the Owners were very happy with the finished building, that their initial expectation was for a quasi, colonial saltbox looking Garagish Barnish Structure, and Not, in fact, this, a New England Carriage Barn, that is despite their desire that the building appear as though it had been an original structure.

The assumption, on my part, was that when they stated their Desire to have a New England Carriage Barn, that they and I were speaking of the same Structure, we weren't. It just so happened that the name used by the Clients in the initial meeting, New England Carriage Barn, was reinforced, in my mind, by what the building was asked to provide them.

Though the Client was involved every step of the way, approved the initial sketches, and then the preliminary and Final Drawings, it came as an enormous surprise that this building, was Not what the clients had in mind on that first meeting, indeed, the raising, for them, was an enormous, and delightful, surprise. Though they had seen the two dimensional Drawings -- the elevations and sections -- They had not, entirely, know what to expect.

Conclusion

This building was Very simple to design. The Needs, the Desires, the Budget, and the Site requirements of the Client all meshed extremely well, so well, that, in fact, little or no compromises, of any sort, were required, an extremely unusual case, and, in fact,

It turned out this was strictly by accident.

Had the Clients provided a picture of what they had in mind, as well as merely the name, and a wish list, the Design procedure would have been a great deal different. As it was, I went down a wrong path, instead of attempting to reconcile the outward appearance, the list of needs, and the desire to have the Barn blend in with the local, Vernacular Architecture, I would, instead, visit a number of the existing local Barns and learn that, everything the Owners described to me, was almost a perfect fit for what their Neighbors knew as a “New England Carriage Barn”.

Thus, the solution was hit upon by accident. And it became my assumption that the Owners had been familiar with this from the moment they had first come to see me, with this assumption firmly seated in mind, enormous confidence grew for the Design, I saw no reason to question concerns of outward appearances, or whether or not there was the possibility for any alternative Design.

This also hammered home the point that Owners typically do Not visualize Drawings in the same manner as we. Even though they, themselves, may be involved in some aspect of the trade. In fact, Perspective drawings, may Still not clarify, or communicate to an Owners, what the finished Structure will look like.

As an extreme example; I was involved in the restoration, and erection of a Barn frame which the owner had taken down, from another site, and re-erected on his own property, and found, with Enormous Amazement, that the Owner, despite his great familiarity with the original structure, was Entirely surprised, and delighted, with the finished product, exclaiming; “Man, that’s not what I expected at all!”

The assumption I Now carry with me, is that Owners will Typically be surprised, near every time, with the Completed Building, no matter how intimate they were with the design process.

And, that an Owners comfort with the design, their belief that it will meet their needs, is Not one based upon Solid Experience, and is no guarantee, that, in fact, it will.

Likewise, an Owners Discomfort with a Design, is also, no true indication that they, in fact, understand how the frame does, or does not, provide solutions to their many requirements.

An owner who is constantly seeking to change the design during the building process may be an indication of someone who is very much involved, and knows, very much, what they want, but, it is just as much an indication that they are being given to much slack, and too much control, by the Builder. The great Danger here is that when the Building is completed they will NOT be happy. The Builder may have been, in that case, merely acting as an Enabler, and not as the Check, the Expert, we are hired to be.