Black Barn Garage & Workshop
Project Details:
Architect: ROAM Architecture
Location: New City, NY | Completed 2021
Photographer: Steve Dolinsky
Designed as a modern black barn and built by the homeowner himself, this workshop blends architecture, craft, and daily ritual. Tall ceilings, honest materials, and north-lit windows create a space made for building, tinkering, and getting lost in the work.
This is a garage that feels as intentional as any room in the home.
Tucked behind the main house sits the Black Barn. A charcoal-clad workshop with the silhouette of a modern farmhouse and the soul of a maker’s retreat. Designed by ROAM Architecture and built by the homeowner himself, the structure grew from a simple need: a place where projects, tools, and creativity could finally live under one roof.
The owner, a film-industry set designer and skilled builder, came to ROAM with a clear vision. He wanted height, north light, and enough breathing room for the “pet projects” that never had a proper home. ROAM’s philosophy, that everyday architecture should uplift daily life, shaped every decision. Instead of a utilitarian outbuilding, they approached the Barn as a meaningful architectural space, one capable of supporting both work and ritual.
Outfitted in a deep charcoal exterior that echoes the main house, the Barn feels rooted yet striking. Inside, plywood walls offer warmth and durability, a practical palette that wears in, not out. Tall ceilings and soft north-facing light give the workshop an airy calm, the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to stay a while, whether the day holds a fabrication project or a quiet hour of planning the next one.
The space succeeds because it was designed around a real lifestyle: the flow of tools and materials, the need for clarity and daylight, the satisfaction of a workshop that feels both tough and intentional. It’s a place built to be used, lived in, and marked by the work done inside it.
What began as a functional need became a building with presence - a garage that stands as part of the home’s architecture, not an afterthought. A space where creativity fits, scales, and keeps evolving.
