Cob Corner

One of the pictures of this house has the ‘keyword’: “I want to live here”. Say no more.

David Sheppard and his wife bought a ruined Linhay barn sixteen years ago and it took them two years to make it habitable and a further fourteen years to complete. The brief was to make a home but to retain the qualities of barn in its raw material aesthetic, retaining its fundamental elements – circular stone columns from ground to eaves intrinsic to a Devon “Linhay” and the Cob wall that is 500mm thick, 14m long and 4.0m high. The planning laws at the time prohibited conversion of “ruined” barns and had a 10% restriction on rebuilding stone walls so we infilled with glass mitigating both. Winner of RIBA Regional Awards South West and Wessex and on the Long list for the RIBA House of the Year Awards. Desrcibed by the judges: “The house has a primeval feel, in short it is a deeply sensory experience. This is a mature work by a local master of regional architecture.”

©Joakim Borén

Straight on exterior view of studio. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

Long distance view of Cob Corner from top of jill. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

View looking down at main staircase. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

Deatil of original truss. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

View of stairs cutting through lime plastered wall. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

Detail of exterior wall with traditional stone masonry and wood slats providing screening. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

Detail of wall and window in bathroom with pivot wood window blind. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.

Interior of hallway link between original building an extension. Cob Corner, Ivybridge, United Kingdom. Architect: David Sheppard Architects, 2016.