A New Life for old buildings

Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to see beyond the warts of an old structure in disrepair. And sometimes that fresh set of eyes recognizes the urgency to quickly act to salvage buildings slated for a wrecking ball. The developer’s intent was to bury the barn as the golf course was graded. Because we were commissioned to designthe clubhouse, we negotiated the structure as part of our fee. The second was a larger, two-story log barn, destined for the landfill, to make room for a new elementary school.

In exchange for teaching a class on the history of the ranch and reclamation of the building, together with a small donation, the school district gave us the barn. Next to the barn stood a beautiful log tool shed, in excellent condition, with hand-hewn logs and half-lap corners. So this little gem came along for the ride. Last was a two bedroom cabin on a guest ranch, one of several being cut up and burned for firewood (by a landowner just up the road that we drove by each time on the way to the ranch). We happened along in time to save the building and restore it as the primary guest cabin.