A barn with a difference has been awarded a national design award. The barn at Glen Osmond Farm in Woodend was designed by Bentleigh firm Peter Jackson Design and was awarded Best Special Project Design Award in the National Association of Building Designers Building Design Awards.
The farm has a special mission of providing relief for children and their families affected by serious illness. The barn sits on a 33-hectare site donated by Janet and Bernard Hawkins to children’s charity Very Special Kids, and includes two cottages and a barn.
Eight Victorian, six Queensland, three WA and one South Australian projects were recognised in the inaugural awards.
Judges said Glen Osmond Farm’s “rustic hand built barn invites all to enjoy an exciting indoor play area for both adults and children alike”.
Gerard Smith Design was awarded the National Building Design of the Year for its project River House in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. The project was also awarded Best Residential Interior Design and Best New Residential Design – over $1 million construction cost. River House has minimalistic interiors with the warmth and texture of natural landscaping. The residence takes full advantage of the magnificent water views and has sustainable living spaces, judges said.
The Glen Osmond Farm cottages have been built to accommodate families with a child fighting a life-threatening illness, providing some relief with a country getaway. While the cottages provide comfortable and practical accommodation, the barn presents a rustic-style play area to keep children entertained while still lending a genuine ‘farm feeling’ to the experience.
Designer Peter Jackson donated his time to the project along with many other locals who contributed to the planning and construction of the project.
Mr Jackson said Glen Osmond Farm balanced the need to give practical accommodation to families with children with special medical requirements, with a luxurious farm holiday spot that would give those families a chance to relax and enjoy the rural landscape and majestic scenery surrounding the property.
“The brief was to design a farm-stay accommodation but it evolved over the next 12 months. A big part of this job was just analysing the brief. Once we figured out what we wanted, it became a fantastic and enjoyable design process,” Mr Jackson said.
“After 20 years of experience on regional and rural properties, we understand that by spending enough time to tune into the land we can pick up the site's best energy. This is an area where all technical knowledge is backed by an innate “feel” – a sixth sense, an empathy with the land which enables us to find the best place to site the buildings.
“We focussed on the cottages that would blend in with the farm architecture, but as a modern version of farm architecture with a luxurious and modern interior. The cottages have wheelchair accessibility, tracks in the ceiling to lift children and a disabled access bathroom which looks and feels nothing like an institution.”
Mr Jackson said the cottages with views to Hanging Rock and Mt Macedon were designed to be restorative and relaxing for often time-poor, stressed and financially challenged families.
The cottage accommodation is not only luxurious and practical, but highly efficient. The cottage buildings earned a commendable 7-Star energy efficiency rating, with features such as orientation, positioning of windows and insulation to ensure the building retained a comfortable temperature and minimised the need for heating or cooling.
The barn is also being called out for its sustainable design, being fully built of recycled timber, metal and fittings, and even roof bracing made from a combine harvester’s cutting blade.
Mr Jackson said he was extremely pleased not only with the end result, but also the efforts of those who contributed to realising the wish of much-needed relief for families supported by Very Special Kids.
“Lots of people offered to volunteer – in fact, most of the consultants were volunteers. People came from everywhere to donate their time and services, including interior designers, civil engineers, structural engineers and numerous local business people,” Mr Jackson said.
“We met some of the most beautiful people along the way. In 35 years of work, this is the best and most satisfying project I’ve ever been involved in, because of the benefits so many families will get from it.”