The Project
An 1850s barn replaced with a new hand-built timber frame
The Story
On Skårupørevej 49 in Skårup, South Funen, lies an 18,000 m² property in open, gently rolling landscape, roughly 360 metres from the coast. Here, a brick barn from around 1850 has served generations of farmers. Today, the building is beyond saving. The roof is corroded and contains asbestos. The north facade is on the verge of collapse. The structural timbers are rotten.
The Vision
Øhavsladen replaces the old barn with a new timber frame building on the same footprint and in the same dimensions. The building is constructed with traditional Scandinavian and Baltic timber framing techniques: hand-cut joinery, pegged mortise-and-tenon connections, natural materials. The timber has already been purchased — winter-cut logs from February 2025, selected according to traditional practice and currently air-drying in Latvia.
Workshop
A professional joinery and timber workshop
Teaching
A course and teaching space for groups of 8-14 participants
Facilities
Service facilities for visitors and course participants
The Craft
The building is being constructed in collaboration with The Northmen — Baltic master timber framers with deep experience in traditional timber frame construction. The structure uses hand-cut joinery: mortise-and-tenon, pegged connections, wedged joints. No bolts, no brackets, no modern shortcuts in the timber frame itself.
Current Status
- •Architectural drawings completed (existing building survey and new proposal)
- •Svendborg Municipality approved maintenance work on the existing building (October 2025)
- •Timber purchased and air-drying in Latvia
- •Mayor Bo Hansen has expressed support for the project
- •Museum Sydfyn supports the project
- •We are currently seeking foundation funding for the project's next phases
Support
Øhavsladen has received formal support from key local institutions.
Svendborg Kommune
Mayor Bo Hansen has expressed the municipality's full support for the project's purpose and vision on behalf of Svendborg Municipality. The municipality highlights the project's contribution to the preservation of traditional craft, opportunities for apprentices and young craftspeople, and its value for local tourism and business. The municipality has committed to continued dialogue on necessary permits and outreach towards other authorities and foundations.
Museum Sydfyn
Museum Sydfyn — a state-recognised cultural history museum — supports the project and contributes historical advisory, cultural-historical context, and dialogue on public programming such as lectures, guided tours, and exhibitions connecting Øhavsladen to the building heritage of South Funen.
Location
Skårupørevej 49, 5881 Skårup Fyn
Skårupørevej 49, Skårup Fyn