Tag Archives: Architecture

The People

A Visit With William Buckland

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I was on a personal pilgrimage while in Annapolis this weekend to visit the Hammond Harwood House.

William Buckland, who most likely had a hand in the carved panelling of Menokin, was the commissioned architect of this house.

If you look closely at the carved pattern directly over the doorway you’ll recognize the frieze on the best chamber mantelpiece from Menokin.

Being inside HHH was the closest I’ll probably ever come to being inside the original Menokin. The floor plans are almost identical. And I got to meet Buckland firsthand in this copy of his portrait by Peale.

While much more ornate throughout than Menokin, it was fun to catch glimpses of some familiar carvings. I highly recommend a visit.

The House

Menokin Glass Project: Summer Work 2015

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SAVE THE HOUSE: Preconstruction Work

So many exciting things are happening at Menokin in the coming months. We hope that you are able to follow along as they take place and encourage you to visit and observe as the archaeologists, preservation architects, masons, builders and
interns undertake preconstruction work for the Menokin Glass Project.

Here’s a synopsis of the archaeology work that took place at the beginning of this week:  Rock and Roll: Extraction of Stones at Menokin

Get all the details here.

Watch a fun video of the archaeologists at work here.

 

 

The People

Menokin Exhibit Travels to the College of William and Mary

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We’re bringing the Menokin story to the Hampton Roads area with our traveling exhibit of Menokin landscape photographs by our own Hullie Moore and Frances Benjamin Johnston. The exhibit is up now at the Botetourt Gallery of William & Mary’s Earl Gregg Swem Library and runs through October 2. Please be sure to check it out!

MenokinExhibit_Swem3The exhibit and our portrait of Francis Lightfoot Lee hang in Swem Library’s Botetourt Gallery near the 18th century statute of Lord Botetourt himself. I think Frank Lee would be pleased to hold court with Botetourt.

This is what he wrote to William Lee in July of 1770:

“Lord Botetourt, in the opinion of every body is a polite, agreeable man, & it is probable from his universal character that we shou’d be very happy in a Governor, if it was not for our unhappy dispute with G. Britain in which he must no doubt think & act with the ministry, indeed he honestly says so, & from what little he speaks about it, it appears the ministry are determin’d to enforce.”

Lord Botetourt died only three months later and was replaced by Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s last royal governor (the Lee brothers were no fans of Dunmore to say the least).

 

The House

Queen Truss – Alice Talks About Architecture

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Menokin’s Education Coordinator, Alice French, has prepared a video lesson about architecture. In this episode she talks about roof framing and the purpose for a queen truss.

Glass House Project team members Ward Bucher and Nakita Reed from Encore Sustainable Design helped Alice with the details of this lesson on their recent working visit to Menokin in February.

Enjoy!

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The House

Happy Holidays from the Menokin Foundation

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Gift
Thank you.

The House

Preservation Nation Gives A Nod To The Menokin Project

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The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s recent blog post features The Menokin Project. Thanks to Meghan O’Connor for an excellent article.

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Meghan was one of a group of four interns from American University that assisted the Foundation with interpretation strategies and ideas.

 

The House, The People

Country House, City House: Menokin Exhibit Opens at The Octagon House November 4, 2014

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Exhibit runs November 6, 2014 until April, 2015
Exhibit runs November 6, 2014 until April, 2015

Menokin and The Octagon House are linked across
the centuries through historic events, a family and a love of architecture. Step inside their history and be immersed in an exhibit of revolutionary plans for their future in the Country House, City House exhibition.

The AIA Foundation (which operates The Octagon House) and The Menokin Foundation share a common mission: to encourage and educate the public and the architecture profession about the preservation of great design of the past, and the creation of great design for the future. That mission is made tangible through this collaborative exhibit.

The exhibit is comprised of three parts:

Menokin: Re-imagining A Ruin A visual overview of the history, rehabilitation and future of Menokin.
Menokin: Re-imagining A Ruin
A visual overview of the history, rehabilitation and future of Menokin.
Through Their Eyes: A Photographic Journey Take an artistic journey through the camera lenses of two photographers — Frances Benjamin Johnston and Hullihen Williams Moore. This collection spans over eight decades of Menokin’s history, as well as the changes in technique and the advancements in photo-technology from 1930 to 2014.
Through Their Eyes: A Photographic Journey
Take an artistic journey through the camera lenses of two photographers — Frances Benjamin Johnston and Hullihen Williams Moore. This collection spans over eight decades of Menokin’s history, as well as the changes in technique and the advancements in photo-technology from 1930 to 2014.
Menokin Revealed This exhibition is a curated collection of the imaginations and visions of the students of architect, Jorge Silvetti, from his 2013 studio course at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Menokin Revealed
This exhibition is a curated collection of the imaginations and
visions of the students of architect, Jorge Silvetti, from his 2013 studio course at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Exhibit Hours:

Self-guided tours:
Thursday – Saturday, 1-4pm
Admission: FREE

Private guided tours are available during other times by appointment. Tours last approximately one hour, and are $10/adults and $5/students.

The House

What Do Urban Ballparks and Menokin Have In Common?

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Truth be told, the thought to compare the two had never occurred to me.

But it did occur to Ed Slipek, Senior Contributing Editor of Style Weekly Magazine when he recently visited the Menokin Revealed exhibit at the Virginia Center for Architecture.

In his article Material World in the current issue, Slipek focuses on the importance of making the open call for plans and ideas when undertaking a large project such as the Shockoe Bottom proposed baseball stadium.

The lesson of ‘Ruins, Memory and the Imagination: Menokin Revealed‘ is: How do we know a good solutions unless they’re set up against alternatives? Wouldn’t it be great to have 11 more design proposals for Shockoe Bottom? The process might make us crazy, but then again, it could produce something quite worthwhile.

While Menokin Revealed was an academic exercise for the Harvard Graduate School of Design students of The Menokin Project’s lead architect, Jorge Silvetti, their ideas and images are thought provoking and inspiring.

"Ruins, Memory and the Imagination: Menokin Revealed" runs till April 27 at the Virginia Center for Architecture, 2501 Monument Ave. For information call 644-3041 or visit virginiaarchitecture.org. Photograph and Exhibit Display Design by Forrest French
“Ruins, Memory and the Imagination: Menokin Revealed” runs till April 27 at the Virginia Center for Architecture, 2501 Monument Ave. For information call 644-3041 or visit architectureva.org.
Photograph and Exhibit Display Design by Forrest French.
The Northern Neck and Beyond

Ruins, Memory, and The Imagination: Menokin Revealed

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An Exhibition of the
Harvard Graduate School of Design Projects
at the Virginia Center for Architecture

In the spring of 2013, architecture professor Jorge Silvetti led twelve Harvard Graduate School of Design students through an exploration of the complex design and interpretive questions surrounding the c. 1769 Menokin site.

Discover the students’ innovative solutions for the evocative crumbling ruins and surrounding landscape at this 500-acre site in Virginia’s Northern Neck.

This exhibit will feature images of the final concept presentations of the students of the spring studio course. Curated by Jorge Silvetti, the show will feature graphics designed by Carmine D’Alessandro and custom exhibit panels designed and produced by Forrest French.

Visitors will be introduced to the exhibition with an overview of The Menokin Project, putting the work of the students into context of the revolutionary thinking that Menokin inspires. It’s easy to understand that inspiration when reading the observations of the students during their time here…

From the presentation of Alex Watchman.
From the presentation of Alex Watchman.
From the presentation of Carmine
From the presentation of Carmine D’Alessandro

Bios of the students and descriptions of the Design Program at Harvard in which they participate will also be highlighted.

The exhibit will run from January 30th until April 27th at the Virginia Center for Architecture in Richmond, VA.

The House

The Menokin Glass House: A Revolutionary Project

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Once the home of Declaration of Independence signer Francis Lightfoot Lee, now the evocative crumbling ruins of an 18th century mansion in Virginia’s Northern Neck, Menokin aspires to a future like no other among American Revolutionary sites and conservation efforts.

Menokin is a multi-faceted place, rich in heritage and stories. The site spans 500 acres of land in close proximity to Washington, DC and other major cities and historic sites. At its center is the revolutionary rehabilitation of the Menokin house.

Remaining historical elements and some extracted structural materials from the house will be reinstalled, along with the beautiful woodwork that was removed before the house collapsed in the 1960s. The missing exterior walls, roof, and floors will be recreated in glass and steel to protect the remaining historic fabric, to restore volume and space, and to provide exhibit areas.

Architect Jorge Silvetti and his internationally known firm of Machado and Silvetti Associates leads an interdisciplinary team that has developed our plan. The Glass Project serves as the ultimate case-study in architectural innovation and moves beyond just breaking the mold of the traditional historic house museum. The real potential of Menokin lies in the opportunity to approach its preservation and interpretation in a truly innovative and revolutionary way, embodying the spirit of the place and Francis Lightfoot Lee himself.