FALLBROOK FARMHOUSE

In 1970, British architect John Honer (later Executive Architect of London’s Barbican) designed a bold modern addition to a modest farmhouse near Perth. Though much of Honer’s design had been covered by renovations in the 1990s, there was opportunity to bring its original character back to life.

The renovation began with a study of Honer’s drawings and the identification of key design moves: simple massing, deep overhangs, vertical siding, and large-format wood windows. These elements echoed his later brutalist work but were adapted here to a rural context. Comparisons were drawn between archival Barbican interiors and features still visible in the farmhouse, like the open tread oak stair, nearly identical to those in the Barbican’s duplex units.

The project was both a restoration and an interpretation. The ‘90s fiberglass windows were replaced with new wood units modeled after Honer’s originals. Vertical wood siding that will grey naturally over time was introduced to reference both the original cladding and the grey concrete of the Barbican, and the roofline was simplified to emphasize the clarity of the addition’s form. Inside, the colour palette and material expression were inspired by contemporary images of Honer’s later work and the colours of the rural setting.

The renovation also integrated highly sustainable systems- a ground-source heat pump, solar panels, and upgraded insulation, to ensure the building performs to today’s standards. For us, the project became an act of architectural archaeology- recovering a lost modernist vision and reuniting it with its rural landscape.