One of the radical American innovations is a house that is not surrounded by a fence and or a moat. So I guess it come naturally to reuse the old barn walls as a barrier between a house and the outside world. Interestingly the enclosure does not compromised the view but creates a cozy roof deck, the roof deck that would have felt much differently without the walls around it.
Stylistically this house remind me Centre Chorégraphique National by Rudy Ricciotti. Sheets of glass, thin lateral spans surrounded by a brutal, thick structure.
Via Inhabitat » Beautiful Modern House Rises from Stone Ruins.
Further reading: