Texas Touch
I was visiting Houston recently. You don't need to know why. As I was flying into the Hobby Airport, we passed over some interesting looking farms.
Despite my experience, I've never come across set ups quite like this. I'm *thinking* these arenas are set up for roping, and I did see a few others that obviously had cow pens attached. It's fascinating to see how a specific arena set up is integrated into the farm layout and with the rest of the riding space. I was immediately inspired to create a design based on what I saw.
This barn has seven stalls total with the main barn facing a 96' x 180' arena. It's the type of set up where another lean to could be easily added onto the other side of the arena, ideally a copy of the existing barn. Currently, I've allotted space for a 24' x 60' feed room/storage shed. The area extending halfway around the curve is a set of bleachers. The underside of those bleachers could also be used for additional storage.
I did also design the stall front on this one. I'm always back and forth on using wood because I favor barns that are "fire proof". In this case, the bottom half of the stall front uses brick while the door itself has a wooden detail. The grills would all be metal, of course.
Material wise, I didn't think too deeply about this one. I've been looking at alternatives to wood and different types of wood. I've heard of charred wood before for wooden beams and columns. It's said that burning makes the material stronger, which is great for structural elements, but I recently found out that you can also use charred wood as a type of siding. I would do this barn with a charred wood siding and metal structure. Those two tend to go well aesthetically, and both help with additional fire proofing.
This definitely isn't my most innovative design, but I enjoyed seeing the different style of Houston. As a designer in many regards, it's important for me to find inspiration wherever possible. I'm going to do some more research on materials moving forward as it seems progressive thoughts on barn and farm design has been stunted. Might even highlight some facilities that embody the ideals that I have regarding facility design.
Despite my experience, I've never come across set ups quite like this. I'm *thinking* these arenas are set up for roping, and I did see a few others that obviously had cow pens attached. It's fascinating to see how a specific arena set up is integrated into the farm layout and with the rest of the riding space. I was immediately inspired to create a design based on what I saw.
This barn has seven stalls total with the main barn facing a 96' x 180' arena. It's the type of set up where another lean to could be easily added onto the other side of the arena, ideally a copy of the existing barn. Currently, I've allotted space for a 24' x 60' feed room/storage shed. The area extending halfway around the curve is a set of bleachers. The underside of those bleachers could also be used for additional storage.
I did also design the stall front on this one. I'm always back and forth on using wood because I favor barns that are "fire proof". In this case, the bottom half of the stall front uses brick while the door itself has a wooden detail. The grills would all be metal, of course.
Material wise, I didn't think too deeply about this one. I've been looking at alternatives to wood and different types of wood. I've heard of charred wood before for wooden beams and columns. It's said that burning makes the material stronger, which is great for structural elements, but I recently found out that you can also use charred wood as a type of siding. I would do this barn with a charred wood siding and metal structure. Those two tend to go well aesthetically, and both help with additional fire proofing.
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| Charred Wood Siding from Siding Authority |
Very neat!
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