News and Announcements

 

Current News
Keeneland Magazine, a highly regarded publication dedicated to Thoroughbreds and the equestrian lifestyle, features Blackburn Architects in their Summer 2008 issue, currently on newsstands. As one of the most distinguished magazines of the Thoroughbred industry, the Lexington, Kentucky based Keeneland provides coverage of the legendary Keeneland Racecourse and the Keeneland way of life. Blackburn Architects is thrilled to be a part of such an outstanding publication.

Keeneland Summer 2008 cover

Construction of the broodmare barn is near complete at Sagamore Farm, in Baltimore County, MD, the historic thoroughbred breeding facility once owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, II. Prominent in the mid-20th century, Sagamore was once the home of champion horses Native Dancer, Bed O' Roses, and Discovery. The current owner plans to restore the farm to its former world-class status. Blackburn Architects is providing architectural services for the renovation of the existing barns on the property, including a 16-stall foaling barn and a 20-stall broodmare barn. The barns will be updated to include important health and safety features without sacrificing their historic details. Read more about Sagamore in Maryland Life Magazine's May/June 2008 issue.

Sagamore Farm

Maryland Life Cover

The award-winning New River Bank Barn in Leesburg, Virginia was featured in a recent cover story in Green Builder Magazine. In addition to winning multiple design awards, the project is recognized for the sustainable, energy efficient design elements used in the adaptive reuse project.

Green Builder Magazine

John Blackburn, AIA, Senior Principal of Blackburn Architects, has been enlisted to provide a monthly column on ranch design for Western Horseman Magazine. Beginning in November 2007, with an article on the design of Devine Ranch, the columns discuss either a specific ranch or a particular element of equestrian design such as barn ventilation, lighting or site planning. Also, keep an eye out for an upcoming feature story on John and his quarter of a century designing the country's finest equestrian facilities. Please review our Publications page to read up on Blackburn Barns where the design always starts with the horse.

Longtime WRC television news anchor and Washingtonian, Susan Kidd, has hired Blackburn Architects to design her new residence on a family estate in Alabama. The design will pay homage to a pre-Civil War cabin on the property that was built in the vernacular dogtrot style typical of many historic homes in the Deep South. The residence will serve as a second home to Ms. Kidd and is designed to accommodate large family reunions, with guest quarters that can be closed down when not in use. The project includes an outdoor living area with a pool, an outdoor fireplace, and space to gather in all seasons.

Susan Kidd Residence

Blackburn Architects was recently hired to provide planning and design services for Templeton Farm in Templeton, California near Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo in the beautiful mountains of central California. The area is famous for its vineyards and hot springs, rural beauty and proximity to beaches, mountains, and the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The project includes a 5,000 square foot residence, a farm manager's house, a 24-stall barn with all the amenities, a covered exerciser, and unique to this project, a top notch dog daycare center.
One of Blackburn Architects' newest projects is Wild Goose Farm in Shepardstown, West Virginia. Dating back to the early 1800s, the bank barn is part of the historic property once owned and maintained by an engineer of the Holland Tunnel. Its current owner intends to restore the barn, but with a twist: one wing of the barn will house horses; the other wing will serve as a winery, with storage and production on the ground level, and reception and tasting areas on the main floor. A contained passageway will allow horses to safely exit the barn without public interaction and permit an open courtyard for outdoor entertaining. Additionally, a silo will be converted into an observation area for guests to relax and enjoy views of the property.

Wild Goose Farm

Blackburn Architects, in conjunction with Axis Architects of Salt Lake City, UT, has been selected to design the new Utah State University Equine Educational Center, which will include indoor and outdoor arenas, classrooms, breeding sheds, and stabling for over eighty horses.

The New River Bank Barn recently won an AIA Merit Award in Historic Resources, as well as the 2007 Southern Living Home Award in Historic Restoration. Southern Living Magazine went on to feature the project in its annual Best of Southern Living Issue.

AIA 2006

AIA WASHINGTON CHAPTER 2006

Several of Blackburn's projects were featured in Randy Leffingwell's most recent publication, "The Ultimate Barn." This book features unique barns with exceptional architecture, innovation, historical significance and beauty.
Construction is nearly complete at Glenwood Farm in South Carolina. Located on a hilly 250-acre site with two lakes, this farm is designed of wood and stone to fit within the natural landscape. The covered arena and outdoor dressage arena with surrounding paddocks overlook a small pond. The 12-stall barn with two wash/groom stalls will be used to board private horses as well as for the family's personal use.

Glenwood Farm

Blackburn Architects was recently given the ABC Award for "excellence in construction" for the Rosemount Center.
 
Recently Completed Projects
Oxon Hill Manor, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, is a 49-room, Georgian-style mansion on the National Registry of Historic Places. Extensive renovations and upgrades to the 1928 mansion, subsequent to a catastrophic fire in 2004, were completed in the summer of 2007.
The New River Farm on the Potomac River in Loudoun County, Virginia was completed in the spring of 2007. The project included a 24-stall barn and a 25,000-square-foot indoor riding arena.
The Rosemount Center in Washington, DC, originally built in 1911 as a residence for unwed mothers, was renovated and expanded to house the country’s leading Head Start program.
The Grant Residence and Artist Studio, located in Ware Neck, Virginia, was built around stringent wetland requirements. The contemporary cottage complements the historic site, while the large screened porch provides panoramic views of the scenic Ware River.
The Devine Ranch and residence located in Aptos, California was designed in a "Tahoe-like" architecture style using timber frame construction, natural siding and Montana river rock.

 



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