Francis Lightfoot Lee was a Virginian signer of the American Declaration of Independence who built his estate around 1769 on land given to himself and his wife by his father-in-law. The name of the estate, Menokin, translates to 'he gives it to me' in the native Algonquin language, who had previously used the riverside site as a settlement. A relatively simple Colonial two-story house was built, and the couple operated the estate as a tobacco plantation until their deaths in 1797. The property then changed hands many times until it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and was acquired by the Menokin Foundation in 1995. The main house had fallen into ruin - only the brick chimmeny stacks, sections of the exterior walls and a few floor sections were entact. The foundation built a temporary stabilization structure and canopy to protect the ruins.
The goal of this comprehensive options studio and its continuation into the following summer was to envision an expanded Menokin Foundation - the proposal here focuses on a main visitor's center, a single story building with classrooms and a cafe with a four story gallery tower with an observation deck above the treeline. A pedestrian path connects the center to the house ruins, stabilized by a new steel structure utilizing technology that minimally intrudes on the original building. Stone walls depend on their weight for stability, but as they decay, the lighter weight exposes cracks in the mortar which weaken the wall further. The stabilization stops this destructive cycle by not allowing the remaining stone to expand or contract, either up or down or side to side. The steel columns also supports wooden decks, which replicate the original building's floor heights, for visitors to explore the ruins without actually touching them.
Interpretive paths connects various sites within the estate, from the main entrance to the visitor's center, a river landing site, an existing structure built in the 90's as an artistic retreat, and a series of observation points along the paths highlighting views and sites. The updated Menokin Foundation, while still focused on the house ruins, activates the entire site as a place for archaeological and natural learning. The ruin itself is allowed to be just that - a ruin, not reconstructed or refurbished, but preserved in its current state. This is a real project - the Menokin Foundation sponsored our visit to the site, and our multiple studio projects were exhibited at the Virginia Historical Society.
