We have your day planned for you on Thursday, May 18th. Archaeology and stabilization work on the SE corner of the house will resume, and a Hard Hat Tour will start at 2:00.
(Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/kdmxjvm)
Hang around after your tour for the Menokin Speaker Series from 4:00 to 6:00 in the Visitor’s Center. Scott Strickland will be speaking on the Indigenous Cultural Landscape survey that was completed in 2016.
(Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/lfr7rm8)
After the lecture, head on over to Relish in Warsaw for dinner and a Glass House Special cocktail. Relish will donate $5 to Menokin for every one sold.
The Architect’s Newspaper (AN)’s inaugural 2013Best of Design Awards featured six categories. Since then, it’s grown to 26 exciting categories. As in years past, jury members (Erik Verboon, Claire Weisz, Karen Stonely, Christopher Leong, Adrianne Weremchuk, and AN’s Matt Shaw) were picked for their expertise and high regard in the design community. They based their judgments on evidence of innovation, creative use of new technology, sustainability, strength of presentation, and, most importantly, great design. We want to thank everyone for their continued support and eagerness to submit their work to the Best of Design Awards. We are already looking forward to growing next year’s coverage for you.
2016 Best of Design Award for Unbuilt > On the Boards: The Menokin Project
Central to a comprehensive master plan for a 500-acre historic Virginian tobacco plantation, the Menokin Project seeks to offer a new way to present and celebrate the complex history of the region through its designs to preserve the 1769 house.Built by a signer of the Declaration of Independence and designated a National Historic Landmark, the ruins of the house are stabilized and preserved using glass to highlight the history’s wear and tear. By delicately marrying old with new, the project seeks to reinterpret the house, while allowing researchers, archaeologists, and visitors to gain a unique understanding of the irreplaceable portions of the site, its ancillary buildings, and the landscape.
(c) 2015, Machado Silvetti
Glass Engineer Eckersley O’Callaghan
Preservation Technologist John Fidler Preservation Technology
On Friday, September 18th, the Menokin Foundation hosted its second guest lecture at William & Mary’s Earl Gregg Swem Library. The first lecture of the series was on the archaeology of Menokin, featuring Dr. David Brown and Thane Harpole from DATA Investigation as guest speakers.
A capacity crowd came to hear speaker Sarah Pope, Class of ’90.
This past Friday, Sarah Pope talked about the Menokin Glass Project, and photographer and Menokin board member, Hullie Moore, talked about his photos taken of Menokin. Friday’s lecture saw a capacity-filled room as guests listened to the preconstruction work that has been done at Menokin this summer and learned of the vision for the next few years.
The lecture series is in conjunction with the Menokin Project exhibit currently on display through October 6th in the Botetourt Gallery of Earl Gregg Swem Library. (More information on the exhibit can be found on the Swem Library website.) Prior to coming to William & Mary, this exhibit was on display at the Octagon House in Washington, DC. The debut of this exhibit on the Menokin Project was earlier in 2014 in Boston where the lead architecture firm developing the glass concept for Menokin – Machado Silvetti – is based.
The Menokin Project exhibit featured a combination of photography and an exhibition on the work of the Menokin Foundation and its innovative approach to the rehabilitation and interpretation of Menokin.
Former law school classmates, Moore gave a personal tour of his photos to Pres. Reveley.
The photography portion of the exhibit, “Through Their Eyes: A Photographic Journey” was an artistic journey through the camera lenses of two photographers — Frances Benjamin Johnston and Hullihen (Hullie) 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.
L/R: Helen Murphy, Sarah Pope (Menokin Executive Director and Class of ’90), Hannah Rennolds (Class of 2017) and Penelope Saffer.
Special thanks to Menokin’s past and present board members who attended the lecture on Friday, including: Helen and Tayloe Murphy, Hullie Moore, and Penelope Saffer. Special guests also included an appearance by William & Mary’s President, Taylor Reveley, the Dean of Swem Library, Carrie Cooper, Smithfield’s Charles Griffith, Joanne Berkley of Norfolk, and many others from around the Williamsburg and Northern Neck communities.
The Menokin Project exhibit will continue to travel to other regions following William & Mary. More information on the next location and lectures associated with the exhibit will be shared soon. A book featuring the photography in the exhibit is available on our Shop page.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about the exhibit, please let us know: 804-333-1776 or menokin@menokin.org.
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.
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.
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.
Well, officially we’re not IN the glass house yet. But it is certainly in us, as well as within a dedicated group of supporters and friends who came to the official Menokin Project Model unveiling party on Friday, October 4th.
Menokin Trustees and staff, Union First Market Bank Officers and Board Members, and guests, gathered on the lawn at the house site to celebrate the arrival of the model in style.
Designed and fabricated by Machado and Silvetti Associates, LLC, the model will play a significant role in teaching about, and raising money for, the strategic rehabilitation of this National Historic Landmark.
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.
Project Progress Reports from:
Jayne Kang | Project Manager, Senior Designer | Machado and Silvetti Associates, LLC
PROGRESS REPORT ITEMS:
Week 4 –07/15/13-07/19/13
Model production:
– Final site model production [routed on the CNC milling machine]
– Laser cut all final parts of the assembly [i.e. rainscreen, armature for 1/16” models]
– Run lighting tests with the assembled 3/16” model
– Produce a test for the plaque that will be placed on the final model
– Run final tests for the liner’s gradient
– Preliminary fit-out of the entire assembly
ROUTING THE MODEL
Preparing the wood for the router.
Routing in action.
Alex dusting off the site model that has been just routed on the CNC machine.
ASSEMBLY
Carmine and Alex preparing for a preliminary fit-out for lighting tests and final assembly.
North View of House positioned in the site model base.
South View of House positioned in the site model base.
Detail of the Polyjet printed armature fitting into the Zcorp model.
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
Preliminary lighting test on overall assembly to calibrate the liner’s opacity, brightness and the overall ambiance.
Menokin: Rubble With A Cause 