A model farm is a farmstead built on purpose to serve as an example to other farmers, with a layout and equipment following the latest thinking on farm management, hygiene and animal welfare. The type belongs mainly to the period from roughly 1880 to 1940, when agriculture modernised rapidly and agricultural colleges and dairy companies needed convincing demonstrations.
According to the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, the guiding principles at these farms were efficient management, healthy livestock, hygiene and good living conditions for the farmer and his family, with attention also given to the working conditions of the staff.
Characteristics
- Generous layout. Large buildings and a spacious yard, often with separate barns instead of everything under one roof
- Hygiene as a design theme. Separate routes for milk, livestock and manure, a dedicated milk room, a cooled or underground milk store and sometimes a quarantine stall
- Ventilation. Deliberately designed air ducts, grilles and ventilation lanterns in the cowshed
- Representative architecture. The front is emphatically designed, often in a reform style, chalet style or a regional variant; some were designed by an architect rather than by a carpenter
Application
Model farms matter today mainly as heritage, because they record a moment in agricultural history. When converting one:
- Consent. Alterations to a listed building need consent, including internal elements such as the milk room, the stall fittings and historic tiling
- Conversion. The deep, tall cowshed volumes suit residential use well, but the insulation must be thought through: a formerly well-ventilated shed that is sealed up will condense
- Assess the value first. Have it recorded, before design begins, which parts carry the heritage value. That determines what may be changed and prevents expensive surprises on site
Related terms
- Farmhouse
- Listed building
- Planning permission
- Ventilation
- Barn
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