DSDHA prioritises "elegant frugality" in Henry Moore Studios gallery revamp

London studio DSDHA has renovated Sheep Field Barn, a gallery at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens in Hertfordshire, UK, updating its exhibition areas and introducing workshop spaces.

Sheep Field Barn is an old agricultural building, which architecture studio Hawkins\Brown converted into a gallery in 1999 on the 28-hectare site of the former home of 20th-century British sculptor Henry Moore.

Commissioned by the Henry Moore Foundation, the overhaul has doubled the building's footprint and introduced workshop spaces for students.

DSDHA has also improved circulation, revamped the gallery areas and enhanced the environmental performance of the building.

"The client's brief had a strong vision to enhance the Henry Moore Foundation's aims of sharing the artist's work, his way of working, and to encourage the appreciation of sculpture, both culturally as an art form and as a hands-on creative activity," DSDHA founding director Deborah Saunt told Dezeen.

"There was a desire for new spaces for making and discovery, and a dedicated place for visitors to find out more about Moore's life and work by opening up the barn to new generations of visitors, families, and school groups," she continued.

"The previous building also needed updating to modern gallery conditions and had a poor energy performance."

Surrounded by open farmland in the village of Perry Green, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens is an arts centre comprising a visitor's centre, galleries and an archive, alongside Moore's former home and studios.

Following its revamp, the Sheep Field Barn now doubles as both a gallery and an education and workshop space for students to learn about and create work inspired by Moore.

DSDHA described the extension as a "simple lean-to cart shed". It has a Douglas fir frame, which is attached to the building's original steel structure and raised on reusable steel screw piles.

The studio said this is designed for eventual disassembly and reintroduction to the circular economy.

Externally, the building is wrapped in reclaimed silver spruce salvaged from Yorkshire barns, while the barn's interior features wall linings and joinery made from the building's original Douglas fir cladding.

Blockwork taken out for new openings has been reused elsewhere at the centre, while an old steel delivery door has been repurposed as lintels.

Sheep Field Barn's design is deliberately resourceful and restrained, according to DSDHA, in a bid to reflect Moore's way of working and also ensuring focus is retained on the farmland and the sculptures dotted within it.

"It was clear to us from the beginning that any intervention had to foreground Moore's work at all times and respect his way of working," said Saunt.

"Given Moore's waste-not-want-not approach in his everyday life and working methods, we deployed what we called elegant frugality to echo his inherent urge to recycle, reuse and conserve, and to simplify the architecture wherever possible," she continued.

"Moore's spirit is truly embedded in the fabric of the new building."

Access to the building is through a sliding door in the extension, leading into a double-height entrance space.

Sheep Field Barn contains a top-lit gallery on the ground floor for large artworks, while a gallery for changing exhibitions sits on the first floor.

The eight-metre-wide addition contains the learning areas and is linked to the original building by a corridor that conceals storage spaces.

There are two workshop rooms, each with windows that frame the landscape and access to an adjoining sheltered outdoor area for lessons to spill outside in warm weather.

A large part of the project was to improve the building's environmental performance and set "a benchmark for low-carbon gallery environments", according to DSDHA.

While prioritising material reuse and a demountable structure, this involved introducing ground-source heat pumps, solar panels and a new, less energy-intensive air conditioning system.

Sheep Field Barn's roof overhang helps to prevent overheating, while openable skylights facilitate natural ventilation and controlled daylight.

"The result is a building that has doubled its footprint yet halved its running costs," concluded Saunt.

"The project sets a benchmark for low-carbon gallery environments with sustainability integrated at every stage of design and construction, and is part of the foundation's net zero commitment."

DSDHA is a London studio founded in 1998 by Saunt and David Hills. Its other projects include the revamp of the National Youth Theatre and the renovation of the Smithsons-designed Economist Plaza offices, both of which are in London.

Other galleries recently featured on Dezeen include Mesura's restoration of never-before-seen rooms at Antoni Gaudí's Casa Batlló, and the revamped Central Pavilion at the site of the Venice Biennale.

The photography is by Jim Stephenson unless stated otherwise. 

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