the Resonant Dwelling

One of several works by the Greensboro, NC-based architecture firm SCHEMATA|studio, the Resonant Dwelling is an adaptation of an old tin-clad, solid oak barn into a live/work studio for the firm’s owner.
The novelty of the existing gambrel structure lent great opportunities and challenges to the process of
conversion. The architect focused on utilizing the logic of the old barn’s layout to inform ways to best
craft the new intervention. Some spaces were left largely intact, with exposed rafters and studs, while
others were grafted onto with contemporary details including steel beams and crisp wall corners. Above
the main living space and office, a loft bedroom perches gently beside the existing barn rafters allowing
natural light to filter down and through the space. The exterior siding is a combination of the original
tin-panels, oak plank, and a modern charred wood slat treatment. The mixture of textures creates a rich
articulation of old and new.
The siting of the home in Whitsett provides a calm atmosphere in which the structure can breath and
bask in the sun as it rises and peers over a field once used to grow crops for the family in residence.
Large custom windows afford expansive views of the rural setting which will soon become home to a
small orchard and extensive herb garden.