A simple agricultural structure sits at the toes of the 50-acre James Berry Vineyard and adjacent winery that sits just 800 feet away. Located in the Templeton Gap area of Paso Robles, Calif., the Saxum Vineyard equipment barn is completely self-sufficient, operating independently from the energy grid, therefore maximizing the structure’s survivability and resilience. The barn provides a covered, open-air storage for farming equipment, workshop and maintenance space, and storage for livestock supplies. As the foremost structure present upon entering the vineyard-lined property, Brian Korte, AIA, partner at Clayton & Little, San Antonio, says it speaks to the winery’s commitment to sustainability and subservience to the natural landscape.
Weathering steel, photovoltaic roof system highlights self-sufficient equipment barn
Photo: Casey Dunn
The building is designed as a modern pole barn using reclaimed oil field drill stem pipe. According to Korte, the project draws inspiration from other agrarian structures that sit lightly on the land, thinking of the utilitarian farming shed with reclaimed, practical and hardy materials that exhibit their own richness and are left to weather naturally and gracefully on their own. “It is a modern interpretation of constructing a barn as a farmer might have approached building it himself with materials that were on hand or readily available.”
The objective was to provide an armature for a photovoltaic roof system that offsets more than 100 percent of the power demands on the winery. Lumos Solar LSX laminated glass solar module from Lumos Solar LLC, Nederland, Colo., are used as both the actual primary roof and the renewable energy generator, offsetting any additional costs to build an extra roof with separately mounted crystalline solar panels.
Minimalistic and salvaged materials were used to withstand the particularly dry climate, as well as for regional availability, long-term durability, and their ability to minimize regular maintenance. Additionally, the barn is designed to harness the local climate to maximize cross ventilation, daylight and solar energy. “Materials for a barn need to be practical, robust and not too precious, while bringing their own authenticity and simple elegance to a structure,” Korte notes. “They are also honest and perform the dual task of serving both structural requirements and architectural finish in many cases. I feel the simplicity of the weathered steel to be the perfect complement to the surrounding vineyards and oak-filled hillsides.”
The barn is constructed of welded Schedule 40 reclaimed drill stem pipe in 2-inch, 3-inch and 3.5-inch diameters left to weather naturally. The lateral load resisting system consists of diaphragm rod cross-bracing and vertical tension only cross-braced frames. The laminated glass solar modules are supported on wood and WT steel flitch purlins welded to the pipe trusses. An 8-inch-diameter Schedule 40 half-pipe gutter sits at the low end of the roof to accommodate future rainwater harvesting. “There is authenticity using salvaged pipe that was locally sourced and was already nice and rusty, giving the material a chance for extended life in another agrarian setting,” Korte says.
Phoenix-based Western States Metal Roofing’s 22-gauge Western Rib Corten corrugated perforated steel panels provide shading and filtered privacy. “The deep corrugations not only provide long spanning capabilities between structural elements and an ability to cantilever beyond them,” Korte notes, “but the perforated corrugations also give the barn a beautiful textural scale, and play with light, transparency and shadow as the sun moves.”
The barn doors are clad in weathered steel off-cuts saved for reuse from the adjacent winery shoring walls, and which were reused in a calico pattern to fit the oddly shaped panels to tube steel-framed door leafs. Storage boxes are skinned with stained cedar siding and the insides clad with unfinished rotary cut Douglas fir plywood.