Goodwood Barn: bringing family together

By Harrison Lane

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Modern ‘barn-style’ homes are hugely popular right now but Goodwood Barn isn’t a house, it is actually a rural barn that houses a three-horse stable. However, it is no ordinary barn – it was designed to draw a family together through their personal loves: horses, dancing and cars.

Goodwood Barn sits on a plot of rural land within the crater of an old eroded volcano in the Bombay Hills, about 40km southeast of Auckland. It is one of New Zealand’s most famous areas for market gardening and is protected as an ‘outstanding natural landscape’, so it was essential that the barn’s design was sensitive to its rural environment.

The family who own the 10-acre property already live in a house nearby on the site, but they needed extra space to cater for individual family member’s talents and interests. The stable was designed for one of the owners’ daughters who is a horse rider, a dance studio was created for the other daughter who is a dancer, an entertaining space allow the family to hang out with friends and the dad’s passion for high-performance cars is satiated by a four-car garage and ‘man-cave’.

“The property has 230-degree views of the surrounding landscape, which is mostly farmland for cropping, so we included lots of windows to bring in the light and views,” explains Laura Daly of Harrison Lane, which is an Auckland-based firm of master builders who construct rural and equestrian projects, including country homes, stables, arenas and barns. Harrison Lane designed and project managed the complete construction of Goodwood Barn and the adjacent horse riding arena, as well as creating the landscaping, the reshaping and re-seeding of paddocks, and a renovation of an older barn on the property to match the new one.

“We started our business building stables so we are used to designing very strong, oversized, chunky buildings that are given a hard time by the horses,” says Laura. “But, for us, it is also important to create good proportions to the spaces we create. At Goodwood Barn, we chose a pitched gable roof with corbel detailing around the soffit, which fits well into this particular rural environment.”

The floor of the 400m² barn needed to be set above the flood plain and, during the initial ground works, water became the main challenge of the project. “During the excavation of the ground for the foundations, we discovered an old swamp, which meant that we had to dig down 2.5m and build it back up with layers of geotech filler, which added additional cost to the build and was a great reminder that despite having comprehensive geotech reports, unexpected challenges often arise.” explains Laura.  

“Other than that, nothing wildly extraordinary happened during the build,” says Laura. “Our team is well oiled as we design the projects ourselves and employ our own builders. We have built a lot of projects together as a team and have a systematic process in place that we follow to ensure things run smoothly. I communicate directly with the client to keep things simple and to keep track of what’s going on.”

The material palette is simple and refined to work in harmoniously with the owners’ elegant country style seen elsewhere on the property. On the exterior, the steel roof is painted in Resene Flaxpod and plywood-and-batten cladding is painted in Resene DNA, a dark greenish charcoal tone that is sympathetic to the natural landscape – a stipulation of the resource consent. However, the corbels, veranda and joinery provide a contrast in a fresh off-white, which is carried through into the interior, including all the shaker-style cabinetry.

Upstairs, a lounge area, bar and bathroom have timber laminate flooring, white walls and ceilings, sliding barn doors and French doors open out onto a north-facing deck, which is surrounded by a glass balustrade to provide uninterrupted views of the beautiful rural landscape.  

On the ground floor, the generous stable has space for three horses, a hot and cold wash down and grooming area, an adjoining tack room with custom-made joinery to house specialist equestrian gear. The feed room has six built-in feed bins for rodent proof storage of horse feed, along with shelving and horse rug racks. A rubber equine safety flooring has been used throughout the stable as it allows the horses’ hoofs to naturally sink into the surface, provides grip and a warm, quiet and comfortable environment for the animals and riders.

Next door, the 60 m² garage has a double-height stud, polished concrete flooring, plywood linings and a recycled brick veneer feature wall that showcases the owner’s art. Next door, the light and spacious dance studio has a sprung oak dance floor, a whole wall of mirrors and three large French doors that open up to the landscaped garden. Classical landscaping around the barn and riding arena completes this unique project.

    

Photography by Jamie Cobel.

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Goodwood Barn is a two-storeyed gable form that features barn doors, French doors and dormer windows in the roof structure.
Goodwood Barn is a two-storeyed gable form that features barn doors, French doors and dormer windows in the roof structure.
Set within a rural landscape within the Bombay Hills, south of Auckland, the barn is linked to a sand and shell horse arena.
Set within a rural landscape within the Bombay Hills, south of Auckland, the barn is linked to a sand and shell horse arena.
The barn is clad in charcoal grey-painted plywood and batten, with white details providing contrast.
The barn is clad in charcoal grey-painted plywood and batten, with white details providing contrast.
White sliding barn doors enclose the horse stable.
White sliding barn doors enclose the horse stable.
The generous stable is home to three horses.
The generous stable is home to three horses.
A room with a view for one of the horses.
A room with a view for one of the horses.
On the left is the feed room, which has six built-in feed bins for rodent-proof storage of horse feed, shelving and racks for hanging rugs, and, on the right, is the the tack room.
On the left is the feed room, which has six built-in feed bins for rodent-proof storage of horse feed, shelving and racks for hanging rugs, and, on the right, is the the tack room.
The separate tack room features custom made joinery for housing specialist equestrine gear. 
The separate tack room features custom made joinery for housing specialist equestrine gear. 
The downstairs bathroom services the garage, dance studio and stables.
The downstairs bathroom services the garage, dance studio and stables.
One of the entrances into the garage.
One of the entrances into the garage.
The garage is lined in plywood and recycled brick veneer and features automotive-inpsired artworks and memorabilia.
The garage is lined in plywood and recycled brick veneer and features automotive-inpsired artworks and memorabilia.
The entrance to the garage.
The entrance to the garage.
The dance studio has a sprung timber dance floor, a wall of mirrors and French doors leading out into the landscape.
The dance studio has a sprung timber dance floor, a wall of mirrors and French doors leading out into the landscape.
The upstairs lounge and bar area with French doors leading out to a glass balustrade-enclosed, north-facing deck
The upstairs lounge and bar area with French doors leading out to a glass balustrade-enclosed, north-facing deck
The lounge features a sliding barn door and a neutral colour palette,
The lounge features a sliding barn door and a neutral colour palette,
The upstairs bathroom.
The upstairs bathroom.
The bath has a standing tap.
The bath has a standing tap.
Front elevation of Goodwood Barn lit up at night.
Front elevation of Goodwood Barn lit up at night.
View of the barn from the entrance driveway, lit up at night.
View of the barn from the entrance driveway, lit up at night.

About the
Professional

Luxury, lifestyle and equestrian construction.

At Harrison Lane we build beautiful country homes, bespoke barns and equestrian facilities in the greater Auckland and Waikato regions.

Our full project management service goes beyond traditional design and build, incorporating master site planning, earthworks, drainage & site development, colour co-ordination, landscaping and more. 

We are registered Master Builders who are passionate about our work, specializing in the customised design and build of:

  • Country homes of any size, barn-style homes, cottages and minor dwellings.
  • Lifestyle barns, garages and workshops.
  • Equestrian construction: stables, arenas and all-weather riding tracks.
  • Earthworks - swimming pool excavation, building platforms, driveways, landscaping, contouring and drainage.
  • Total farm development - fencing, tracks, implement storage barns.