The client approached MWD after obtaining planning permission to convert a Grade II* listed barn into accommodation for the groundskeeper. Contrary to the previous design, which proposed the removal of a 200-year-old oak tree that had taken up residence amongst the ruins of the old farmyard, MWD proposed to extend the barn in the opposite direction creating a central courtyard garden, supplementing the barns new existence as a home. There is an existing emphasis on the use of natural and traditional materials found on-site, which has been reinstated within both the old and new, to celebrate the vernacular style of the historic asset.