HIGHER KEHELLAND

Class Q Barn Conversion
Location: Kehelland, Camborne, Cornwall

From Agricultural Barn to Contemporary Home
Higher Kehelland Barn is the conversion of a twentieth-century portal-framed agricultural building into a contemporary family home. The project retains the distinctive structure and agricultural character of the existing barn while introducing a new, highly insulated building envelope and carefully considered domestic accommodation.

CAD Planning secured the Class Q planning approval, with CAD Architects taking the project forward through Stages 4–5, from technical design and construction detailing through to on-site delivery.

Retaining the Agricultural Character
The existing steel portal frame forms the foundation of the design, retained within a new insulated external envelope. Rather than disguising the building's agricultural origins, the approach celebrates its existing form and distinctive silhouette.

A restrained palette of vertical corrugated and standing-seam metal cladding reinforces this character, referencing the materials and proportions of contemporary agricultural buildings while giving the converted barn a clean and cohesive architectural identity.

Light, Views & Privacy
The internal arrangement introduces natural light and ventilation while responding carefully to the surrounding properties and landscape. Large patio doors and windows to the west open the principal living spaces towards the clients' land, creating a direct connection with the outside.

Additional openings to the east provide natural light and ventilation to the kitchen, bedroom, TV room and utility spaces, while their ground-floor arrangement helps maintain privacy to neighbouring properties. Existing sliding barn doors are retained to the northern elevation, reinforcing the building's agricultural character while providing shelter from the elements.

Technical Transformation
The conversion required the existing agricultural structure to be carefully integrated with a new insulated external envelope, transforming the original portal-framed shell into comfortable and efficient habitable accommodation.

The technical design focused on achieving the performance and detailing expected of a contemporary home while retaining the existing steel structure and distinctive agricultural character of the building.

A New Life for the Barn
The completed conversion gives the existing agricultural building a new purpose while retaining the qualities that define its original character. The combination of exposed structural principles, contemporary agricultural materials and carefully resolved technical detailing creates a home that feels rooted in its former use while providing the comfort, performance and flexibility expected of a modern dwelling.