La Cretâ Farmhouse

Jordi Costa — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 07:06:45 +0000

Architects: Bard Yersin Photography: David Bard Construction Period: 2025 Location: Fribourg, Switzerland

The project involves the transformation of an apartment occupying the rural part of an 18th-century farmhouse.
Fribourg farmhouses of that era housed both living quarters and farm functions under one roof. The rural section consisted of two stables flanking a central passageway — the fourragère — a through-space used for feeding livestock, which also benefited from additional height allowing hay to be stored above the stables.

The apartment, fitted out in 2011 by previous owners, resulted from a renovation that significantly altered the rural volume’s substance and nature. The original ceiling joists were replaced with a concrete slab, the wooden structure was substituted with masonry walls, and the roof framework removed in favour of glulam beams.

The current project takes the form of a “re”- transformation of the barn based on subtraction, revealing the original qualities of the space. The main intervention restores the previous spatial character of the fourragère: partitions were removed to recover its through-configuration, and the slab was cut through its full depth to bring back its verticality.

The resulting layout follows a tripartite scheme: the central living space occupies the former fourragère, while service rooms and bedrooms are housed in structural bays on either side. Material choices reflect the same logic: pseudo-Tuscan finishes were replaced with white tiles reminiscent of milking rooms, and plaster was stripped to reveal the original textures underneath.

Text provided by the architects.

La entrada La Cretâ Farmhouse se publicó primero en Global Spaces.

Bard Yersin archivos - Global Spaces

La Cretâ Farmhouse