forrester farmhouse and studios
The site is one of the original farms in Lexington, Massachusetts. It is the setting for a serene composition of the original house, new for-rent cottages, and separate studios for textiles and woodworking. The building composition is one of historic forms, simple flat roof structures, and oversized double hung windows to maximize light and air circulation in the surrounding kitchen and work studios. Galvanized steel entrance canopies and steel decks at the upper floor connect the individual buildings in a simple functional manner. The buildings partially frame a large south-facing pea stone court, a grove of sugar maples, and a terraced vegetable garden. The courtyard also accommodates all roof rainwater in infiltration cisterns. The rear of the property is defined by a long gabion retaining wall, made with stones from the hill excavation that created the flat courtyards.
