Recently our west coast design team, led by Architect David Shirley AIA, NCARB, CPHB, were approached by the owner of a very remote ranch property located in the Alvord Desert of southwest Oregon to design a functional horse barn for him and his wife, who is an avid horse lover.
“The owner and his wife had approached a handful of other well-known architects in the region prior to reaching out to New Energy Works but felt that their design needs were not fully understood, as well as there being a general lack of experience building with heavy timber, which to them set our team apart,” David explained. “Once the design process started, our team worked closely with the owners on the look and feel of the barn which will be part of an active working ranch once it is completed.”
Taking all the early collaborative design conversations with the owners to heart, David and the team developed three early design options for the ranches remote build site. The first was a very straightforward utilitarian timber design, the second a classic lyrical New Energy Works design, and the third a reverent cathedral-style design, modeled loosely after rib vault cathedral ceilings commonly found throughout Europe.