A Charred Cedar Barn Replaces a Tumbledown Garage in Connecticut
Architect Aya Macedo designs a finely tuned space for a New England family to shelter cars, storage, and overnight guests.
Architect Aya Macedo designs a finely tuned space for a New England family to shelter cars, storage, and overnight guests.
On one level, architect Aya Maceda’s mission was simple. A couple with four children and a weekend house in Sharon, Connecticut, wanted a modern barn to replace the crumbling garage on their property. In addition to sheltering cars, it would store a variety of sports equipment.
But what a collection of gear! There were bicycles, tennis racquets, and snowmobiles, bundles of skis and piles of ski boots, all of which needed to be organized and kept handy for a family that redefines the word "active."
An eight-foot sliding ladder provides access to upper cabinets in the garage of a carriage house in Northwestern Connecticut designed by architect Aya Maceda for Rakesh and Amanda Wilson.
Photo: Tony Luong
The clients, Rakesh Wilson, who works in finance, and Amanda Wilson, a psychiatrist, also wanted the new building to offer what their century-old white clapboard farmhouse across the wide lawn could not: private quarters for guests and a retreat for their children. As closet modernists in a traditional setting, they yearned for a streamlined, uncluttered environment that fit unobtrusively into the same footprint as the structure it replaced.
On a side wall, sleek barn doors open to reveal a storage area for bikes. Stairs near the garage entrance, which features a door from Renlita, lead to a vaulted loft that was originally intended as an exercise room but is now used by Rakesh as an office.
Photo: Tony Luong
Inside the closets are items like the family’s ski equipment, neatly arranged and always at the ready.
Photo: Tony Luong
See the full story on Dwell.com: A Charred Cedar Barn Replaces a Tumbledown Garage in Connecticut
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