the cowshed collective brings sustainability to social farming

first image

cowshed by the cowshed collective, callan, county kilkenny, ireland

image © henrietta williams

all images courtesy of commonage and the cowshed collective

among the greenery of callan, a small town in ireland, a group of recent university college of dublin graduates are creating an architecture that responds to
the ordinary in a rich and compelling way. dubbed the cowshed collective, the group works under the premise that brilliant resourcefulness,
architectural honesty and critical design thinking can expand a building's everyday performance. these ideas have been underwritten by an equally
enterprising entity, commonage. named after the irish notion that land is managed through collective responsibility, the design/research studio has
been commissioning projects that bring together architects, artists, social geographers and the like to create new frameworks and contexts for
creative practice in ireland. the cowshed was built as part of a 17 day design/build workshop for commonage summer school, itself an intensely collaborative
process that had participants from a wide range of backgrounds working alongside local tradesman and builders as well as sharing meals and listening to
public talks. the cowshed  is an important impetus for a long term project seeking to design and build structures at the camphill callan community farm,
a social farming program that supports a work environment for people with disabilities.  

the program brief called for a small milking parlor, room for a cow and her calves and a hayloft. the response was an ambitious design that set to
additionally create infrastructure on the farm. not only would the enclosure provide that farm with a yard,  two single pitched roofs would capture and
channel rainwater for both the cattle and the yard. the unique program and team made for the architecture be be almost entirely process driven and
unabashedly site-specific. the construction process facilitated participant's learning and became the driving force of the design. the site itself provided a
selection of salvaged materials; red brick, ESB poles, galvanized roof sheeting, steel for the foundation,  structural timber and pre-cut plywood panels
from a temporary installation by commonage. while the efficient use of these reclaimed materials makes the cowshed a model of sustainable practice,
the designers also made use of a the staircase in the adjacent shed to grant access to the overhead hayloft, thereby seamlessly weaving together the program
with the existing farm. the timber cladding creates glowing points of interior sunlight that alternately illuminate from within at night. the masonry,
exposed beams and selective color ensure that the cowshed's rustic beauty can be appreciated far beyond it's utilitarian function.

the shed in context and its relationship to the existing structure

image © cowshed collective

selective color, staggered masonry and slotted cladding give the shed a rich range of textures

image © ste murray

a ready client acclimating to the new structure

image © henrietta williams

the hayloft weaves into the existing barn

image © henrietta williams

the slotted wood cladding has a remarkable dappled-light effect 

image © ste murray

(left): first floor interior
(right): interior view of the hayloft

image © ste murray

(left): the cowshed lit from within at night
(right): the dappled and skylight change throughout the day

image © ste murray

nighttime view

image © cowshed collective

commonage summer school participants attend public lectures and share meals as part of the design/build workshop

image © brian cregan 

laying the foundation with salvaged steel beams

image © cowshed collective

timber supports where set thereafter

image © cowshed collective

salvaged brick was used for the walls

image © henrietta williams

participants worked on site along with local builders

image © brian cregan

bricklaying for the milk parlor

image © henrietta williams

participants and tradesman stockpiled reclaimed materials

image © brian cregan

the design was informed by the building process and modest tools available

image © brian cregan 

roof and wall cladding

image © brian cregan

image © henrietta williams 

the summer school culminated in the 'cowshed ceili', a celebration with banjo players on the bridge at dusk and a disco in the hayloft to end the festivities

image © henrietta williams

floor plan level 0 and 1

section

image © henrietta

axonometric

Project Info

design/build workshops led by: cowshed collective
commissioned by: commonage summer school & camphill callan                                                                         
engineer: Kavanagh Mansfield                                                                                             
location: westcourt, callan, co. kilkenny ireland                                                                                                                                      
funders: kilkenny leader partnership & ireland funds