Merrowdown is a 270m2 three bedroom home, which is located in the garden of the client’s previous house. The brief required that it should be of contemporary design, light and airy, have a strong connection to the garden, include double height spaces and make use of the site levels. We chose the traditional form of a pitched roof 'barn' as the basis of our design; local barns and agricultural buildings nearby are typically very dark in colour, appearing almost black on the horizon. The black zinc façade replicates these traditional silhouettes. The irregular 'bar code' seam pattern added a randomness to the stark zinc form and helped with window positioning and building tolerances. The interior is comprised of several flowing spaces flow out to the external patio and garden from the kitchen/dining. Internally, the rooms step down to each other in response to the sloping site. The house is supplied with fresh water from a newly formed borehole, rainwater is discharged to soakaways and the project incorporates a heat recovery system.