Photography by Rush Jagoe, courtesy of Berman Horn Studio.
A derelict, 19th-century wooden barn is a brilliant place for an artist’s studio.
So when Berman Horn Studio members of the Gardenista Architect/Designer Directory was asked to add a separate indestructible space for welding they knew immediately how they would make...
...a new concrete workshop complement a 19th century vernacular They simply poured concrete walls and a roof in the shape of an old barn
The welding studio is made of reinforced concrete, which first was poured to make three sides of the rectangular base (one side is glass), then poured inside a barn-roof-shaped form in one go.
“Typically, they would be removed,” said architect Maria Berman, “but we decided to leave them both as a remnant of the process of making the building and because they reminded us of the chimneys they resemble. They’re also somehow really cute, which is not what one typically associates with a concrete building.”
Boston ivy grows on the facade.
At one end of the studio is a gabled wall of gridded steel windows with embedded lights and an operable door.
Small holes on the studio’s interior walls mark the places where the concrete form was tied together during the pouring process.
Steel hooks and bars keep shop tools like clamps and rulers in place.
The concrete welding shed is located behind the larger studio, wood shop, and art archive housed in an old barn remodeled by Berman Horn.
“The ivy softens the concrete of the building, but in a way makes it more apparent in the places where it remains visible,” said Berman.
To encourage the ivy, Berman Horn anchored a grid of stainless steel wire to the exterior walls to create a trellis for the vines.
The trellis was necessary in the beginning, said Berman, “but the ivy found its way pretty quickly.”
Because Boston ivy attaches to a surface “via small suckers along its branches, rather than roots that dig into the material,” explained Berman, it’s not destructive to the surface.
The ivy cover forces the studio to shift with the seasons: Boston ivy leaves “become a vibrant purple red in the fall, and the bare ivy branches on the concrete are also beautiful in winter,” said Berman.
“We love the constant push pull between the organic qualities of the ivy and the stark strength of the concrete,” said Berman. Finally, get more ideas on how to plant, grow, and care for various vines and climbers with our Vines & Climbers: A Field Guide.