BIG IS BEAUTIFUL
BIG IS BEAUTIFUL
FOR FUTURE OF UK FARM BUILDINGS
NOWHERE is the increase in scale in farming more evident than in the design of farm buildings. Barns and sheds have always been built for function and to match the scale of operations being carried out. However, steady rationalisation of farming units, coupled with a need to renew buildings past their functional life, are prompting farmers to look for ever larger buildings.
CAP changes, along with good returns in some sectors before 1997, saw a dramatic increase in the number and size of buildings erected. Changes in the dairy, beef and arable sector are continuing and all point towards the need for larger rather than smaller farm buildings. Its not a trend that is likely to please local authorities or those who want farming to return to a bygone age.
History
The 40s and 50s were an add-on-design period with little coordinated planning and a produce-at-all-cost mentality. The 60s saw the introduction of general purpose buildings, larger and wider than ever before and making extensive use of concrete and asbestos-reinforced cement sheeting.
Production-orientated grants concentrated on land improvements in the 50s, but began to be used for buildings in the 60s and 70s. The clear span structure was well established and the concrete frames of the early decades gave way to the lighter more versatile steel portal frame.
Farm building development slowed in the 80s with fewer large projects taking place. There was a resurgence in the early 90s, as the next farming generation took over or prepared to hand over the reins.
This most recent spurt in building activity coincided with an increase in rules and regulations like the Food Safety Act, Water Act, pollution control and planning requirements. What has occurred over the last five years can only be described as a farm building boom and comparable only to the 70s boom.
This is likely to continue (perhaps not in the same quantity as incomes have slumped), as the various regulations facing farming tighten and have to be met. In satisfying these, the likelihood is that these buildings will be bigger, wider and have a greater impact on the landscape than any of their predecessors.
Pressures on local authorities to provide more domestic housing and the likelihood that tax relief on rollover will continue will help to retain some buoyancy in the farm building market.
Planning
"Accountability", freedom to roam, requirements to meet local authority planning approvals and the change in the county council structure have all put pressure on agriculture. So has the lack of understanding among many pressure groups of the notion of a working countryside. The desire for a countryside locked in a bygone age is a strong one and contains within it an unwillingness to accept that farms are modern businesses that need industrial-scale buildings to match.
All farm buildings require planning permission of one form or another under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.The scale of the modern farm building can, on occasions, cause difficulty in obtaining permission depending on the location and influences such as ESA status, listed buildings etc.
Design inside out
Traditional barns and farm buildings have stood the test of time because they were built for a specific function and remained used and maintained throughout the years. Non-functional buildings rarely stand the test of time and many were demolished through the Victorian years and replaced with complete new farmsteads.
More than 100 years later history is repeating itself. Many kennel buildings located on two or three sites are being replaced with a single unit for perhaps 300 or 400 cows.
If function is kept foremost, as it should be, in designing this new type of industrial farm building, then they will stand the test of time and carry a certain architectural quality as a result.
New industrial farm
buildings
If these new farm buildings try to match the scale of the bigger farm units being created the 90s, they are likely to be dubbed as blots on the landscape. Agricultures "industrial estate" is the working countryside, with little scope for centralisation and zoning and the result is sporadic large scale development. This in itself gives the landscape variation and character.
Farm buildings are normally rectangular in shape with little break of form and are constructed from basic materials which can be adapted to enhance appearance. Though the size and form of modern farm buildings may cause concern to some countryside groups, I believe that they should not be hidden behind a facade that mimics a bygone age. The use of colour, coupled with design details like overhanging eaves, contrasting textures and breaks in form are all tools available to the designer and contractor alike.
Design guidelines
Many design guides exist, often written from a planning perspective, that concentrate on blending the modern building into the traditional landscape and promote the use of traditional detailing such as stone facing, steep roof pitches etc.
A common solution is to promote the use of multiple span structures to reduce height and scale. But the bulk remains and there is a danger that the building can look out of proportion. There is also a risk that the agricultural purpose of the building will be lost sight of.
Here are some simple guidelines that can be used to aid the design process.
Siting
• Use slope and excavation to lessen impact (but dont inhibit ventilation etc).
• Avoid building on the skyline where possible.
• Blend the building into the backdrop using existing landscape features like hills, trees, walling etc.
• Try to avoid "all under one roof" rectangular structures.
• Consider near and far views especially in areas of special interest.
Roof
• Use a colour in keeping with the area. (Keep in mind that the traditional red pantile of eastern counties was man-made and originally used as ballast in shipping before being adapted to a roofing material. Modern planning controls may not allow for ingenuity of this type.)
• Use non-reflective materials.
• Extend verges (gable end roof) to give shadow line.
• Extend eaves by 40cm (1.3ft) to 1.2m (3.9ft) to create shadow lines.
• Use roof lights to break form on roof.
Side cladding
• Larger areas should be a lighter colour than the roof to create contrast.
• Provide vertical emphasis in the form of spaced boarding etc.
• Clad over stanchions.
Walls
• Contrast with cladding in colour, texture and alignment (horizontal).
• Break big areas with stanchions.
• Pay attention to concrete block-work colour and finish (a bag rub finish will often give a desired textured effect).
Landscaping
Landscaping has in the past been used to screen buildings from view or to camouflage them some way. However, it can give the impression of something to hide and in that way be counter-productive. Landscaping can also have a detrimental effect on the building and its function by changing wind flows, dropping leaves in gutters and undermining the foundations if trees are planted too close.
Techniques should be adopted to complement the building. Previously cleared topsoil can be deposited around the site to create an undulating mound that can soften the stark lines of a building.
Above: A new multi-span farm building – a type of design as likely to be seen on an industrial estate as a farm. Below: The scale of modern agriculture, with its large machines and high output, needs buildings to match, like this roofed silage clamp. Not everyone understands this.
History repeating itself. The tithe barn is a good example of how farm buildings have changed yet not changed.
The size, shape and versatility of the modern portal frame building fits well with the functional needs of agriculture in the late 1990s.