ZaraNova / Ready-to-build designs / Barnhaus 101

ZaraNova collection · MODEL 101

BarnhausModel 101 · Three-level single-family home

A modern barn silhouette in dark porcelain and warm wood. Double-height living, a glass gable, four bedrooms, and a structure engineered to stand for centuries.

See the three options View blueprints

63'-3" × 67'-9"

Barnhaus 101: Front approach at golden hour: dark porcelain facade, thermowood gable, glass curtain wall

4,398SF heated

5,363SF total incl. garage

4 + 1Bedrooms + office

4.5Baths

3-carGarage

6–8 moTurnkey build

Overview

Barnhaus 101 is the first design in the ZaraNova collection: a three-level home with 4,398 SF of heated space that takes the honest gable of a Midwestern barn and rebuilds it in materials that don't age. Cold-formed steel, MgO board, and porcelain.

The plan is organized around one idea: a formal living room that rises the full height of the house, 21 feet at the ridge, under a glass gable wall. The kitchen opens to it through a 12-foot span, and the family room on the second floor looks down into it across an open gallery. A guest suite with its own bath sits on the first floor for parents or visitors, while the second floor holds the primary suite, two bedrooms, and laundry. A 424 SF heated attic adds storage or a studio.

Outside, nearly 1,200 SF of open terrace wraps the second floor, over the garage off the primary suite and along the family room, while a covered terrace at the back shelters the kitchen and living-room doors at grade. The house number is set into the facade in raised steel numerals: the "101" that gives the model its name.

Every dimension on this page comes from the home's digital twin, the complete 3D model from which the steel is manufactured. What you're reading is not a rendering of an idea. It's the description of a fully engineered building.

Built to last for centuriesSteel frame, MgO sheathing, porcelain skin. Nothing organic to rot, warp, or feed termites. A structure that doesn't move, so it doesn't crack.
Non-combustible from foundation to roofConcrete, steel, mineral board, and fired porcelain. Insurers notice, and so does a family in a wildfire year.
Designed completely before it's builtA millimeter-accurate digital twin in which every window, duct, cabinet, and outlet is placed before anything is manufactured. The steel is cut from that twin.
Sealed, ventilated, healthy airA closed envelope with continuous exterior insulation and a Zehnder heat-recovery ventilator exchanging the home's air six times a day.

Dark ChocolateFacade as rendered

ThermowoodGable, as rendered

Deep BlackFacade option

Visualizations

Barnhaus 101: Front approach at dusk, garage and entry — Front approach at dusk, garage and entry

Barnhaus 101: Rear terrace, covered at grade and open above — Rear terrace, covered at grade and open above

Barnhaus 101: Formal living: double height, marble fireplace, and the open stair — Formal living: double height, marble fireplace, and the open stair

Barnhaus 101: Kitchen and dining, opening to the terrace — Kitchen and dining, opening to the terrace

Blueprints

Floor plans for every level, building sections, and all elevations. Click any sheet to view it full screen. The complete permit set comes with every option below.

Barnhaus 101: Exploded floor diagram — Exploded floor diagram

Barnhaus 101: Ground floor plan — Ground floor plan

Barnhaus 101: First floor plan — First floor plan

Barnhaus 101: Elevation 1-4 — Elevation 1-4

Barnhaus 101: Elevation 4-1 — Elevation 4-1

Barnhaus 101: Elevation H-A — Elevation H-A

Barnhaus 101: Elevation A-H — Elevation A-H

1 / 10Exploded floor diagramClick the sheet to view full screen

Rooms & areas

2,092 SFGround floor, heated

1,882 SFFirst floor, heated

424 SFAttic, heated

965 SFGarage & storage

2,203 SFTerraces, both levels

Level 1 · Ground floor

foyer, 2 × closet, powder room, office, mudroom, utility room, pantry, kitchen, formal living, guest room, bath

2,092 SF

Level 2 · First floor

hallway, family room, utility room, 2 × bath, 2 × bedroom, laundry room, 2 × closet, primary bedroom, primary closet, primary bath

1,882 SF

Level 3 · Attic

attic

424 SF

Garage & storage

garage, 2 × storage

965 SF

Terraces

terrace at grade, 2 × level 2 terrace

2,203 SF

Heated area 4,398 SF + garage and storage 965 SF = 5,363 SF total, the basis for the three prices below. Heated area counts every room on every level: bathrooms, closets, utility rooms, and halls included. Terraces (2,203 SF) are not counted. Room-by-room areas are on the blueprints.

Dimensions

63'-3"Overall width (grid 1 to 4)

67'-9"Overall depth (grid A to H)

34'-11"Height, grade to ridge

10'-0"Ground floor ceiling

21'-0"Living room, floor to ridge

3Garage bays

996 SFRear terrace at grade

1,207 SFSecond-floor terraces

Lot requirement: the footprint is roughly 63'-3" × 67'-9". Allowing for typical setbacks, Barnhaus 101 fits on a lot 100' × 140' or larger. We'll confirm fit against your specific lot and zoning during the consultation.

How it's built

Every ZaraNova home is built in layers, each doing one job. Read from the inside out.

Cold-formed steel frame

Light-gauge galvanized steel profiles, joists, and trusses, manufactured on CNC roll-forming equipment directly from the digital twin. Each piece is labeled and packed in assembly order. Steel doesn't shrink, swell, warp, or rot, so walls stay laser-straight and floors never squeak.

Manufacturing · SteelModu ↗

MgO board sheathing

Magnesium-oxide board replaces plywood and OSB on walls, floors, and roof. It's non-combustible, immune to mold and moisture, and bonded to the steel joists with structural silicone, which is why the floors have zero movement.

Supply · Megaboard ↗

Continuous exterior insulation

Closed-cell spray foam applied to the outside of the sheathing wraps the whole structure in one unbroken layer: insulation, air barrier, and vapor barrier at once. Applied outside the profiles, it eliminates thermal bridging through the steel and moves the dew point outside the wall, so condensation never forms inside it.

Installation · Foamus ↗

Ventilated porcelain cladding

Large-format porcelain slabs hung on the patented Megabai wall-furring system, with a ventilated cavity behind them. Porcelain is indifferent to sun, rain, heat, and frost, never fades, and comes in almost any look: slate, stone, marble, or the wood-plank finish of the gable.

System · Megabai Wall Furring ↗

Insulated sandwich roof

Steel roof trusses carry insulated sandwich panels, a rigid insulating core between two metal skins, finished with a standing-rib metal roof. One factory-made component replaces decking, underlayment, insulation, and roofing.

Detail · Spec sheet on request

Fresh-air system

A Zehnder heat-recovery ventilator continuously replaces stale indoor air with filtered outdoor air, transferring only heat between the two streams, never moisture. The home's full air volume is exchanged six times a day, quietly, in every room.

System · Zehnder ↗

Three ways to buy

Barnhaus 101 is offered three ways, from the steel structure alone, shipped anywhere in the US or Canada, to a finished home built by us on your lot. Every option includes the complete blueprint set. Click an option to select it.

Option 1 · Ships US & Canada

Skeleton kit

$25 / SFof total area · ≈ $134,000 for 5,363 SF

The complete steel structure of the home, manufactured, flat-packed as a kit, and ready to ship.

All steel parts, CNC-manufactured from the digital twin: profiles, tracks, joists, trusses
Every part marked and packed in assembly order
Flat-packed and strapped for freight
Detailed step-by-step assembly instructions
Complete blueprint set, ready for permitting
Delivery not included, quoted by destination
Assembly, foundation, envelope, and finishes not included

Optional: our engineer or project manager on site to lead the assembly.

Select Option 1

Option 2 · Within 150 miles of Buffalo Grove, IL

Panelized & installed

$35 / SFof total area · ≈ $188,000 for 5,363 SF

The same steel, assembled into wall panels and trusses at our factory, delivered, and installed on your foundation by our crew.

Everything in Option 1
Wall panels, floor trusses, and roof trusses assembled in our factory
Installed on your foundation by a ZaraNova crew, with crane and site supervision included
Structure plumbed, braced, and ready for sheathing
MgO sheathing available on request
Delivery not included, quoted by distance
Foundation, envelope, and finishes not included

Available to project sites within 150 miles of our facility in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

Select Option 2

Option 3 · Our build region

Turnkey home

$350–450 / SFof total area · by level of finishes & appliances · from $1.88M

Barnhaus 101 built start to finish by ZaraNova on your lot, 6 to 8 months from ground break to keys.

Architectural drawings, engineering, and permit handling
Foundation, structure, envelope, insulation, and cladding
Windows, doors, HRV, mechanical, electrical, plumbing
Interior finishes: flooring, doors, kitchen, bathrooms, appliances
Land, site work, and utility connections, quoted per lot

Final price per square foot depends on the finish and appliance level you select. Available in Chicagoland, the North Shore, and southern Wisconsin.

Select Option 3

Blueprints with every optionA complete blueprint set, ready for permitting in Illinois. Building in another state? The same set goes to an architect licensed in your state for review and stamp. We supply everything they need.

Permit fees not includedMunicipal permit and review fees are paid directly to your jurisdiction under every option.

Delivery quoted separatelyFreight for Options 1 and 2 is quoted by destination and distance once we know where the home is going.

One digital twin, three optionsAll three start from the same engineered model, so moving from a kit to an installed structure, or to a turnkey home, is a change of scope, not a redesign.

Customization

Love the concept but need changes? That's normal. Most of our clients start from Barnhaus 101 and adjust it: a larger primary closet, a finished lower level (see Barnhaus 102), a different kitchen layout, a fourth garage bay, or a mirrored plan to suit the lot.

Because the house lives as a digital twin, changes are made in the model first, and the steel is manufactured to the new version. Small modifications are quick. Larger ones are re-engineered and re-priced before anything is fabricated. Either way, you see the exact result before a single part is cut.

Facade color, porcelain finish, interior door style, flooring, and bathroom fixtures are all selections you make with us. They don't change the structure or the price of the shell.

Dark ChocolateFacade as rendered

ThermowoodGable, as rendered

Deep BlackFacade option

Barnhaus 101