Architecture faculty team's design transforms Potts Creek, Va., farmhouse

Visiting architecture faculty Marie and Keith Zawistowski's practice, OnSite, received one of nine 2009 Virginia Society American Institute of Architects Awards (VSAIA) for Excellence in Architecture for their transformation of the 200-year-old Arritt Farm House in Potts Creek, Va.

The project involved the renovation of the existing farmhouse and the design and construction of a new three-story tower. The new structure, which contains a quilting studio and guest rooms, is a torqued, translucent volume with window openings that frame specific views of the mountains and an adjacent creek. The time-tested timber framing techniques inspired the tower’s structure. A 3-D computer model enabled the design to be developed as a kit of parts that were pre-cut and coded for efficient on-site assembly.

The Zawistowskis received the award at the VSAIA annual conference, Architecture Exchange East. The Arritt Farm House was featured in an exhibition at the Virginia Center for Architecture and published in Inform magazine. This past June, the Zawistowskis presented Arritt Farm House at the VSAIA Knowledge Forum that aims to foster discussion between educational institutions and architectural practices about design research.