Blackburn Architects design beautiful barns. Behind every stunning barn is a well thought out plan. Blackburn strives to create well ventilated barns with plenty of natural light, for a healthy environment.
Blackburn’s design team frequently works on indoor riding arenas. Recently, they shared some important thoughts to consider if you are planning on adding one to your farm. Read on for some great tips! All of the arenas pictured below have been designed by Blackburn.
1. Keep things bright – If you are using a wooden ceiling, paint it a light color to brighten the space.
2. Consider condensation – Dripping condensation can startle horses and is generally annoying, not to mention structurally compromising over the long term. To prevent condensation, the design should promote ventilation all year long. The closer the temperature of the air under cover is to the outdoor air the better. Blackburn typically designs ventilation along the ridge of barn roofs to allow rising warmer air to vent and not build up.
Curb mounted skylights can be designed with a “gutter” system to weep away condensation, and either polycarbonate or glass should be multi-paned as well as insulated. Remember that if your farm is in an earthquake zone the glass must meet special requirements.
The above arena was featured in All’s Well Farm barn tour >
3. Pick out the right gates – Arena gates can swell and compromise closing. Sliding kick walls offer a good option. Gates, if preferred, can have a metal frame for stiffness, wood for aesthetic, and hinges installed on an angle so you are not fighting the weight of the door to operate them.
4. Be careful with glass – Use laminated mirrors for safety. Tempering will distort the image. It is not only important to specify the proper mirrors but also to require precise mounting and calibrating to avoid distortion and create optical performance. Blackburn Architects recommends working with a supplier that has experience mounting arena mirrors.
Above arena featured in this modern barn tour >
5. Footing matters – The footing selected and how it is installed and maintained is critical and a very personal decision for the owner to make after evaluating a variety of options. Material used in a covered arena might be quite different from an outdoor arena (as with the installation)
Thank you Blackburn Architects for allowing Stable Style to share to share this useful information! To learn more about Blackburn, visit them online at blackburnarch.com.
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