Moxon
A spacious, bright interior with white brick walls, high ceilings featuring exposed beams, and skylights. The room has minimal furnishings, including two white benches, and an upper-level walkway with a modern, industrial design.
Somerlea Maltings

Somerlea Maltings

Somerset, England

2016 — ongoing

Clients   David & Indre Roberts, Private Client
Buildings · Conservation & Retrofit
The careful restoration and repurposing of this Grade II Listed malting barn as a private gallery and residence is among the more challenging retrofit briefs we’ve faced. The functional nature of this building gives it abundant character while making it physically difficult to reuse. Its floor to ceiling heights are remarkably low – driven by the need to spread barley across their surface rather than normal considerations of human habitation. The relatively small and infrequent windows result in internal spaces lacking adequate daylighting. In effect, the building’s scale, complexity and layout make it incredibly difficult to re-purpose without significant interventions.
Sunlit interior of an empty room with wooden floors and a white brick wall. A window in the center reveals trees outside, casting shadows on the walls and floor. The ceiling features exposed wooden beams.
Sunlit, minimalist interior of a white brick building with high ceilings and large windows. A few geometric objects are scattered on the smooth cement floor. The space feels open and serene, with light streaming in from the windows.
Technical architectural drawings of a two-story building, featuring front and cross-sectional views. The design shows detailed structural elements, including door, window placements, and internal layout with visible rooms and hallways.

As a traditional 19th century agricultural building, the malt house is a pure manifestation of function. Unlike other typologies of its time that frequently celebrate craft and detail, this building is relatively unsophisticated in its utilitarian nature. From the overall layout to the smallest details and finishes, this functionality is the defining characteristic. Along these lines, as the building’s function takes a new direction as a necessary means of survival, its form must adjust as well. These adjustments are clear and practical – a continuation of the building ethos – with hard wearing materials deployed in an honest and uncomplicated manner: glass, concrete, steel and timber are interwoven into the distinctive agricultural character of the barn.

Interior of a rustic loft with white brick walls, exposed wooden beams, and a wooden floor. Sunlight streams through square windows, casting shadows. A staircase with black railings leads to an upper walkway. A red chair is visible on the upper level.
Interior of a modern building with exposed wooden beams, white brick walls, and large windows allowing natural light to stream in. Dark metal elements add contrast to the rustic architecture.
Architectural blueprint featuring a detailed elevation view and three section views of a building. The plans display structural elements, window placements, and roofing details, emphasizing design and architectural features.
Blueprint of a three-part architectural floor plan. Each section features rooms and corridors, with lines indicating walls, doors, and windows. Details suggest a layout for a residential or commercial building with multiple spaces.
A minimalist architectural sketch features two adjacent stone buildings. Each has a pitched roof and large barn-style doors, with small rectangular windows near the rooflines. The buildings sit on a subtle slope.
Wooden architectural model with a staircase and open spaces, featuring a sloped roof and structural framework, architecture by MOXON Architects.
A wooden architectural model with multiple rectangular openings, showcasing a modern design, architecture by MOXON Architects.

As part of a historic agricultural estate, the malting barn and its neighbouring buildings have a purposeful relationship with their surroundings. A wide range of conditions including lawn, orchard, pasture and woodland contribute to the overall character of the place and situate it well within the wider region. As a traditional farmstead, this diversity would have been the result of functional uses which has continued to be the case up to this point. The wider landscape proposal seeks to maintain this balance with sensitive interventions aimed at increasing biological diversity. These include an expanded orchard as well as a wildflower sculpture meadow accessed via footpaths that traverse the property.

Interior of a building featuring a modern, black steel staircase with wooden railings. The structure is set against white brick walls, with abundant natural light streaming through large windows and skylights. The design blends industrial and rustic elements.
A minimalist interior featuring white brick walls and a gray stone floor. The space includes a modern, built-in black fireplace on the right wall. Soft light enters through an unseen source, highlighting the smooth, curved ceiling.
A modern kitchen with white brick walls, a high wooden ceiling, and large windows. The space features a sleek countertop with a sink and built-in appliances. The floor is made of grey stone tiles. Sunlight streams in, creating a bright atmosphere.
A loft space with wooden floors and exposed beams, featuring two bright red modern chairs against a white brick wall. Sunlight streams through a window, casting shadows on the wall and floor.
Sunlit interior of an empty room with wooden floors and a white brick wall. A window in the center reveals trees outside, casting shadows on the walls and floor. The ceiling features exposed wooden beams.
A sunlit room with white brick walls and a wooden ceiling. A window on the left lets in natural light, while a large opening on the right offers a view of red chairs outside on a patio. The floor is dark, possibly tiled or brick.
A minimalist interior with white brick walls, a black and white geometric wall design, and large windows casting sunlight onto the floor. A modern chair is placed near the wall, creating a spacious and serene atmosphere.
A spacious, sunlit interior with white brick walls and large open windows. The polished concrete floor reflects the light streaming in. A large wooden door is open, and trees are visible outside against a bright sky.
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