Barns have been part of the American landscape for hundreds of Years. Originally a Place of work, they have evolved to urban or domesticated spaces. Barns have been disappearing across much of North America and Europe. Historically Barns were on the outskirts of cities so they had proximity to deliver goods. As the Land they occupy continue to become more valuable then the amount derived from farming, subdivision of farmland has become more and more common.

While the great age of barns may be behind us their are many who are working to adapt and preserve these structure with classic building techniques and new materials to still carry on a vital role in our landscape. Barns are also evolving to adapt to modern farming techniques and machinery

Artists were some of the first to recognize the potential barns provided as a great workspaces or personal retreats. The spaces once used for livestock have been transformed to studios, workshops, theaters where writers, woodworkers, painters can work and live.

The most widespread use of converting bars today appears to be for domestic use, however in the last decade as farmers and agriculture have suffered, so have these great icons. Their is a movement to preserve these great icons and many groups have been set up in different states with some offering tax incentives to preserve and save these great structures.

Domesticated Barns
Originally Barns were constructed to store the harvest and livestock. It has become common for Barns to be built new or retrofitted for Domestic or sometimes referred to as an Urban bar esque look while still preserving properties of the original structure and open spaces

Pole Barns
A pole barn or sometimes referred to a cattle barn in North America, is a structure with a roof extended over a series of poles. Since the roof is supported by the poles, which make up the outside barrier of the barn, The roof shape is often gabled or semi-circular/hooped. If you have ever driven by any modern farms you may have seen these Pole barns used for hay storage or livestock shelter. One advantage of pole barns include

1) Low cost

2) Ability to store large quantities of hay in areas easily accessible by vehicles, machines

The design of most pole barns is simple. Poles make up the outer walls and support the roof. Materials used range from light metal or canvas. The style may vary depending on the function of the barn. A barn used for storing hay may lack any kind of lower exterior wall while a pole barn used to house livestock would have some form of wall meeting the roof.

It is interesting to note that barns may either be classified by style, region and/or function. Examples of region include an English Barn, or Dutch. These barns may further be sub classified by function and style. Pole barns ( cattle barns), and tobacco barns are examples of classification by function. New England Post and beam barns may be both functional and unique in style.