18 Brilliant Barn Conversions That Merge Past and Present

London- and Oslo-based architectural practice Studio Bua turned a battered 1930s farm building into a 1,959-square-foot live/work space in Iceland’s remote Breiðafjörður Nature Reserve. To contrast with—but not distract from—the rugged outbuildings and surrounding landscape, the team built a low-impact timber insert that allows the existing structure to maintain its distinctive character while adding another level to the home. The architects meticulously restored the original concrete structure, which was "fragile in some places," Sumarliðadóttir says, and lined the existing barn floor with a reinforced concrete raft.