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.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.
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 architectureva.org. Photograph and Exhibit Display Design by Forrest French.
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 Carmine D’Alessandro
Bios of the students and descriptions of the Design Program at Harvard in which they participate will also be highlighted.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing the progress of The Menokin Project model as it has evolved from a sketch to a finished piece of art.
Harvard Graduate School of Design students Carmine D’Alessandro and Alex Jacobson, and Machado and Silvetti Project Manager Jayne Kang – under the supervision of lead architect, Jorge Silvetti – have delivered a masterpiece of model making that will undoubtedly help The Menokin Foundation take this project to the next level.
We would like to once again express our boundless appreciation to Union First Market Bank for their generous gift that made this all possible.
With no further ado, may I present to you……………….The Model.
A beautiful addition to the Martin Kirwan King Visitor’s Center.
The Menokin Project Model sits on a base of white oak, which is drilled to a topographical accuracy of within .003 of an inch.
The lighting of the model helps illustrate how the interior systems of The Menokin Project work together.
Carmine and Alex demonstrate how to VERY CAREFULLY lift off the cover. DO NOT try this at home.
The three smaller models in the front indicate (from left to right) what currently remains of the original structure, the steel armature, and the interior glass liner.
Additional views of the small models.
A proud moment for the model makers, Alex Jacobson and Carmine D’Alessandro.
The glass on the front of the house is opaque and gradually becomes more transparent as visitors move through the house.
Close up view reveals that we already have visitors in the house!
An interesting juxtaposition: a copy of the original presentation drawing of Menokin done in 1769 (on the bottom right) next to the rehabilitated structure on the left.
The happy culmination of many years of hard work for Executive Director Sarah Pope and Board of Trustees President, Tayloe Murphy.
It was delivered to Menokin this morning by Alex Jacobson and Carmine D’Alessandro, the Harvard Graduate School of Design students, who constructed it under the supervision of Jorge Silvetti. They drove it down, under the cover of darkness, from Boston arriving late last night in Tappahannock.
Here is a sneak peak. But you’ll have to wait until next week to see the model. Why? Because I’m mean. And I want you to salivate!
Heading down the Menokin lane toward the Visitor’s Center.
Carmine peaks under the wrapping to make sure the model survived the trip unscathed.
All 200+ pounds of model are hefted into the visitor’s center.
The unveiling begins…..
Thanks again to Union First Market Bank for making all of this possible!
Project Progress Reports from:
Jayne Kang | Project Manager, Senior Designer | Machado and Silvetti Associates, LLC
PROGRESS REPORT ITEMS:
Week 3 – Part II: 07/08/13-07/12/13
Model production:
– Final modeling adjustments to the armature model for printer
– Final digital site model adjustments for running tool paths
– Selection, purchase, lamination, drying and sanding of wood for the site model
– Model to be routed on Tuesday, July 16.
– 3D prints for House armature go to printer Monday
– 1/16” model pieces out for final print Monday
Reference image of the site model from last week’s Progress Report.
Sketch [by Alex] of the overall construction strategy for the site model, its base, and the Plexiglass encasement.
Alex at the Anderson Quaid Co, Inc. purchasing site model wood.
Carmine cutting down wood planks to uniform dimension.
Carmine cutting down wood planks to uniform dimension.
After carefully inspecting the White Oak boards and selecting the desired visual gradient for the adjacent pieces, Alex and Carmine laminated the boards together; first, in groups of three, and then as a final monolithic block.
The laminated block of wood was then carefully clamped to a sturdy work surface, in order to ensure successful binding and prevent bowing in any single sheet of wood. The process of drying took about 48 hours.
Project Progress Reports from:
Jayne Kang | Project Manager, Senior Designer | Machado and Silvetti Associates, LLC
PROGRESS REPORT ITEMS:
Week 3 – Part I: 07/01/13-07/03/13
Material, Assembly and Visual Testing (liner, rainscreen, historic walls, etc)
– North Elevation Full-Assembly Study [continued]
– Typical Armature Corner and Roof Rainscreen Assembly Study
– Test prints of different woods for the site base Model production:
– Final 3/16” ZCorb Print – Final 1/16” ZCorb Prints [Existing(x1)], Proposed (x2)]
– Final modeling adjustments to the armature model for printer
Included in this progress report are digital renderings and photos that document two major efforts made in the course of this short week, which involved:
1) finalizing the quality of material and level of resolution in the site model, with consideration to cost and aesthetics; and
This model is to represent the concept design that was submitted and approved in March 2013. We decided to lightly reflect the concepts of the team’s Cultural Landcape Architects – Reed Hillderbrand – in the model, using a homogeneous material palette.
White oak (second from bottom) was the winner!
2) studies of various isolated assembly details (i.e. mechanical connections, lighting, aesthetic effects when combining the layered elements) in order to come up with something that is clean, most accurately representative, stable and has the best visual effect.
The Menokin Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received a generous $25,000 grant from Union First Market Bank to fund the building of a scaled architectural model of the Foundation’s Menokin Project.
The finished model, which will be used in the Foundation’s educational and public awareness initiatives, is being fabricated by the internationally-recognized architecture firm of Machado and Silvetti Associates, LLC. The model is based upon Machado and Silvetti’s concept design for the rehabilitation of the Menokin ruins—once home to Declaration of Independence signer, Francis Lightfoot Lee—into an exhibition and conservation center that provides a revolutionary approach to the study of history, architecture, the arts, and conservation.
The design incorporates developing new systems to support and combine architectural glass with the remaining historic fabric. This strategic rehabilitation will accurately represent the shape and volume of this 18th-century National Historic Landmark.
Production for the model is currently underway, and is scheduled to be completed in early August. Several students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, who recently participated in a studio class focusing solely on Menokin, are assisting Machado and Silvetti on the model fabrication as summer interns.
Construction of the model uses Computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) machine tools. These tools require sophisticated CAD/CAM software to translate three-dimensional models into simple text files that directly control tool motion through combinations of linear and rotational motion. The images below illustrate this 3-D printing process in action.
Digital Model Preparation for 3D Printing.
Test Print of the North Facade of the 3/16” House Model.
Material Tests for Gradient Treatment of the Liner.
The process of excavating the 3/16” scale base model from the ZCorb 3D printer.
The process of excavating the 3/16” scale base model from the ZCorb 3D printer.
By Sarah Pope Executive Director, The Menokin Foundation
Away from the quiet fields of Menokin, I traveled to bustling Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 5 for a much anticipated day at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). Twelve architecture graduate students in Professor Jorge Silvetti’s studio, “Ruins, Memory and the Imagination,” would be presenting their individual projects for a Conservation Research Laboratory; a Visitors Center; and Visitors Waterside Harbor at Menokin, as well as the design of all elements necessary to structure and present the Menokin site narratives to the visitor.
Students created a spectacular three-dimensional wooden model of the terrain of the Menokin site, along with the Menokin house site, that will be on display at our Visitors Center.
Reviewers on the studio panel were: Linda Pollack, AIA, ASLA Associate, Marpillero Pollack Architects, New York, NY; Reid Freeman, AIA, Principal at Architecture Operations DPC, New York, NY; Carlos Jimenez, Carlos Jimenez Studio, Houston, TX; Tim Love, AIA, Utile Inc. Architecture and Planning, Boston, MA; and Michael Hayes, Professor of Architectural Theory, Harvard GSD.
The students had been working on their projects for several months, following a weekend-long site visit in February to Menokin and the Northern Neck. The Menokin Foundation provided the opportunity for these students to explore contemporary architectural design solutions to tell the story of our historic site.
We’re planning for a future curated exhibit and publication that presents the Harvard students’ innovative ideas to the public. More details will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, here are themes and associated designs that floated to the top for me as I watched the project presentations:
1) Designing for flexibility: one student designed very cool mobile archaeological stations or pods that can be moved around the site as we continue our investigations.
2) Finding inspiration in painting and fine arts: another student found inspiration from the lines he saw on the Menokin landscape, and his proposed Visitors Center evoked the work of artist Marco Migani.
3) The changing terrain of the site: plateau and ravine, water and woods, open and enclosed: I was particularly enamored by one student’s design of a bridge and attached Visitors Center that spans a ravine to the south of the Menokin house site.
4) Siting and perspective-relationship of new buildings toMenokin: Some students anchored their Visitors Center to the Menokin house—at certain corners of the house or on its central axis—that created a visible dialog between the historic and contemporary structures. Others tucked their new facilities away from the house site into the tree line of our expansive woods, reinforcing the flat, openness of the plateau surrounding the house site.
Above all, the interpersonal, human aspect of this studio—meeting the students, getting to know them and enjoying their unique perspectives on Menokin—was extremely fulfilling to me, as well as to our Trustees, staff, and friends who met the students in February.
The Menokin Foundation is pleased that its historic site is the focus of a Harvard Graduate School of Design studio course for this spring semester. The course ─ Ruins, Memory and the Imagination — is taught by Nelson Robinson, Jr. Professor of Architecture, Jorge Silvetti, who leads 12 graduate students through the complex design and interpretive issues surrounding the historic Menokin site.
The Menokin Foundation owns and operates a 500-acre site that was the plantation home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and is located in the heart of Virginia’s Northern Neck region. Foundation President W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr. commented on the studio, “I have always taken pride in the Foundation’s firm belief in incorporating education and learning as parts of its mission. We offer learning opportunities for everyone whether their interests lie in history, architecture, nature, art, or conservation. This current collaboration with Harvard takes the educational opportunities available at Menokin to a whole new level.”
Students explore basement of the Menokin ruin.
Over the course of the studio, which concludes in May, multiple historical layers will be sorted out and revealed by the graduate students enrolled in the studio as central themes of interpretation at Menokin: the existing architectural ruins of an eighteenth century structure and the stories they imply—dense chapters of American history in its revolutionary years, with its cultural manifestations inscribed in the institution of The Plantation and its architecture; the earlier layers of pre-colonial aboriginal occupation of the site by the Rappahannock Indian Tribe; and the current cultural significance of an imposing natural landscape rich in geological strata, flora and fauna.
Professor Silvetti commented on the timely opportunity that the Menokin partnership offers the Harvard Graduate School of Design and its students, “In no other time as in the present have we found Architecture in such perplexing contradictory relationship with History: on the one hand the practice of architecture is under intense social and political pressures to relate positively to ‘a history’, while on the other, the discipline of architecture has become utterly indifferent, even oblivious to history itself.”
The students, who hail from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ghana, China, Korea, and Russia, will each develop a design project to include: a Conservation Research Laboratory; a Visitors Center; Visitors Waterside Harbor; as well as the design of all elements necessary to structure and present the Menokin site narratives to the visitor. The students will present their projects to a juried panel in early May at Harvard.
Students enrolled in the studio are from around the world.
“This studio could be titled ‘The Architect as a Story Teller,’” smiles Professor Silvetti, “but that’s the instructor’s title and the students should find their own title for the narrative they would develop.”
Menokin Foundation Executive Director, Sarah Dillard Pope, commented, “It’s been a pleasure working with Jorge Silvetti and this young, talented, international group of designers. This academic exercise offers the Menokin Foundation an opportunity to showcase their talents. The studio also draws attention to our professional team’s efforts to devise innovative preservation and interpretive solutions for the Menokin site.”
![Sketch [by Alex] of the overall construction strategy for the site model, its base, and the Plexiglass encasement.](https://i0.wp.com/menokinrubblewithacause.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/progress_3_b.jpg?w=233&h=233&crop=1&ssl=1 "Progress_3_b")
