A single woman in her early 30s who spends much of her time training, riding, and caring for her
horses, wanted a new barn and service storage buildings within an easy drive to her home in South
Carolina. She wanted a facility that would meet her specific functional needs and be easy to maintain
and keep in working order. She also wanted an attractive building that fit her image of what
equestrian structures should look like—a place she could be proud to invite her friends to and a
place where she could throw an occasional party.
While working as a Project Architect for a firm in Washington, D.C., Studio CrowleyHall's Anne
Crowley was given the lead on this project. Picking up on a design that had been created by a
colleague at the firm, Anne was charged with moving the design into the next phase. As she did
so—and started to develop a relationship with the client in the process—it became apparent that
the client did not like the buildings that had been designed for her. It wasn't that they weren't
attractive—it was just that they didn't fit her expectations for how she wanted them to look. She
had felt that way for awhile, but, having never worked with an architect before, had been reticent
about admitting this.
In order to keep the project moving forward, Anne quickly worked with the owner to identify which
elements of the design worked for her—and which did not. Anne also took pains to explain the
architectural process to the client and develop a relationship with her so that she was comfortable
stating what she needed and wanted, liked and disliked. As this relationship solidified, Anne and
the owner were able to work together to create an overall look that better suited the owner's
aesthetic goals.
Salvaging what work she could from the earlier design, Anne massaged what had been more of an
industrial, contemporary look into a classic, traditional barn design that the owner desired.
Once the revised design was set, the project moved forward and, after three years of using it,
the owner continues to be very pleased with the outcome.
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