Maxwan Architects’ House G is a Sun-Filled Retrofitted Barn Retreat in the Netherlands

This sun-filled <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?cat=1779">remodel</a> of a barn in the Netherlands took a plain space and made it something extraordinary while transforming an adjacent dysfunctional and disconnected house into an office workspace. <a href="http://www.maxwan.com/project/20/type/txt/">Maxwan Architects</a> incorporated daylight and a smart minimalist floorplan into House G - the open space is delineated by light, furniture and a single wall. The bright and airy space opens to the garden and a gabled roof retreat.

Most of the existing barn was left intact. A swath of roof was removed and replaced by a length of skylights to compensate for the small windows. 

A <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?attachment_id=182844">soapstone woodstove</a> delineates the living room, and a long counter and simple table makes a kitchen.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?attachment_id=182843">stairs</a> leading to the second floor are suspended from a railing, and a couple of key tread cutouts turn steps into seats for reading books from the adjacent library.

Upstairs there is a platform retreat with built-in seating and ‘safety’ railing.

The beam trusses were stripped of lower supports and structurally beefed up to support a platform laying across the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/10/22/andrew-maynard-unveils-redesigned-green-roofed-warehouse-home/">cords</a>.

The changes create a unique minimal retrofit retreat while relieving the owners of the expensive task of gutting a poorly designed house.