Cowell Ranch Hay Barn

Santa Cruz, CA, United States

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Cowell Ranch Hay Barn

Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Firm

Fernau + Hartman Architects

Type

Educational › University

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2016

Photos

cesar rubio (10)

Perched on a shelf at the entrance to UC Santa Cruz, the Hay Barn overlooks the surrounding Cowell Ranch Historic District, greeting visitors as they pass through the former limestone quarry to central campus. As home to one of the university’s most progressive programs - the Center for Sustainable Agriculture - the LEED Gold certified Hay Barn is both a symbol of the campus’ origins and a reassertion of its commitment to innovation.
Our approach was one of rehabilitation rather than strict preservation. The goal was not to embalm the Hay Barn, but to extend its longevity through utility and to reconnect the barn to the Historic Cowell Ranch, to the organic farm, and to the central campus.
This seemingly straightforward project presented a complex set of competing demands. The reconstruction had to conform to the state’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. At the same time, it had to meet current building codes and the campus’ stringent energy goals. To that end, we minimized the expression of the necessary addition of bulky thermal insulation, and fore-grounded other sustainable strategies such as the addition of windows and skylights for light and ventilation. The original barn doors were reconstructed on the exterior, but since those single-sided doors had no thermal insulation, it was also necessary to add a thermal door at those openings. We detailed interior sliding doors, made of translucent Kalwall panels and steel frames, scaled to these original openings.
The mortise-and-tenon frame with massive 12x12 redwood sill plates and crafted joinery is a rare example of the heavy timber tradition on the west coast. Master timber-framers precisely reconstructed the frame with salvaged members knit together with new, specially milled members. To maintain the massive scale of the barn, and to preserve the spatial experience of the overall volume, enclosed spaces, which include a kitchenette, meeting room, restrooms, and an open office area, were condensed into a service core that is sheathed in salvaged redwood siding. The visually-distinct service core, kept to one side of the barn, accommodates the new program while preserving the sense of space and massive scale of the building.