Season 6 of Queer Eye sees Bobby Berk completing his biggest-ever project yet — constructing an entire barn in just three days. Yes, you read that right.

Berk typically renovates heroes’ homes or workspaces, whichever is more useful. In the past, he’s redone apartments, a fire station and a health-care facility. This season, he even built an entirely new trailer home, for rancher Josh Eilers, in Episode 3. But he’s never before built a structure from scratch on the show. 

The project is for Safe in Austin, a sanctuary for abused or neglected animals. Once the rescued animals are healthy and well-adjusted, Safe in Austin then welcomes the public to interact with them, especially people who have special needs or have suffered abuse. The group had desperately needed a barn to house all of their special-needs animals, who were being kept outside and exposed to the cold and rain. 

“You were talking earlier about how it killed you that when that freeze came, you felt like you couldn’t keep your promise to those animals that you would never let anything bad happen to them again,” Berk says to hero and Safe in Austin founder Jamie Wallace-Griner during the season’s 7th episode. “And now we’re going to give you the power to keep that promise.”

The barn comes complete with horse stalls, bathrooms, medical space and a large area to entertain. One of the inside walls is adorned with Safe in Austin’s motto, “Rescue animals rescuing children,” and a photograph of Angel, the family’s first rescue animal. Angel became Wallace-Griner’s son’s autism service dog. 

“Right before our eyes and without question, she provided protection from his fears, she was a friend to cuddle through the tears, and she gave him a new found confidence,” Safe in Austin’s website says of Angel. “But, most importantly, he now had power over his disabilities.”

Since the project was such a massive undertaking, Berk had to start early. When the Fab Five arrive at Wallace-Griner’s home, which doubles as the ranch space for her nonprofit, there is already a large concrete slab poured as the barn’s foundation by an “anonymous donor.” Berk then reveals it was the group who donated the concrete, and they’d be donating the barn as well. 

Berk revealed to Architectural Digest in 2018 that he receives one-sheets on the heroes beforehand so he can begin ordering furniture and refining his design approach. To get everything done in only three days, he enlists a crew of up to 30 people. In Wallace-Griner’s case, that group also included her husband, David, who Berk says is “the man who helped us all pull it off.”

The barn has already been put to good use. According to Safe in Austin’s website, it’s home to Pancakes and Piggies, a breakfast event where guests are welcome to interact with the ranch’s pig population as well as meet-and-greets with local schools. 

During the episode, the Fab Five also give Wallace-Griner the tools to take charge of her mental health. Culture expert Karamo Brown brings her to equine therapy, encouraging her to take advantage of her existing volunteer network and take time for herself. 

But for Wallace-Griner, the barn is the most important aspect of her makeover, calling it “the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” While looking up at its gigantic size, she marvels at the thought of “the numbers of kids that I can get in here at one time.” 

“It’s phenomenal,” she says. “My head is spinning with things that we can do.”