Weston, Massachusetts, USA
Land’s Sake Farm is one of the few remaining farms in the Boston metropolitan area; It is a non-profit community farm located on public land that donates 30% of its produce for hunger relief to communities in need. Land’s Sake also serves as an educational venue for 8,000 children annually. The Farm’s mission is to connect people to the land to build community and inspire lifelong stewardship that creates meaningful connections between people, the food they eat, and the land by preserving the town’s rural farming heritage and expanding the mission of farming and education.
Land’s Sake Farmstand by Payette, won an American Architecture Award 2025 from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
Together the new Farmstand and Animal Barn form the heart of the Agrarian Campus and are the result of a 7-year pro-bono effort that began with a master plan. The structures are sited to preserve the “infinite vista” through the heart of the historic site and explore the craft and materiality of “First Settlers” building techniques, with a confident nod toward modernity.
The buildings are at home in a New England landscape surrounded by historic homes and agrarian structures. The Net Zero farm is a model for sustainable construction, demonstrating how buildings can be functional, beautiful, and environmentally conscious by showcasing a unique blend of traditional and cutting-edge techniques.
Pavilions in the Landscape Conceived as pavilions, places to gather, floating in the landscape, the Farmstand and the Animal Barn were derived from the same “reinterpreted saltbox” section that adapts to changes in program and building orientation, resulting in roof forms with a dynamic profile and silhouette. They are both heavy timber structures, clad with natural pine siding and a system of sliding panels that open the structures onto the landscape in response to weather, time of day, type of use or season.
The Farmstand is capped with an iconic solar array and is enclosed with a wood curtainwall system with sliding glass panels. The Animal Barn uses a system of translucent sliding polycarbonate panels to provide natural light in work areas and transform the structure into an open-air pavilion for seasonal educational programs.
Preserving our Agrarian Heritage The 40-Acre Master Plan and new structures are the result of a 7-year pro-bono effort by the design team and Land’s Sake that began when the Select Board for the Town of Weston issued an RFP for the re-development of the Land’s Sake site. At this time, Land’s Sake had a 1-year renewable lease.
After extensive dialogue with the community and the formulation of both a Master Plan and Strategic Plan, Land’s Sake was successful in their efforts to convince the Town of Weston that it was in their best interest to offer Land’s Sake a 30-year lease in lieu of re-developing the site – to build less and preserve the farm and its landscape for generations to enjoy.
Architects: Payette
Design Team: Kevin Sullivan, Prin Wesley Schwartz, and Parke MacDowell
Contruction Manager (Farmstand): Bowdoin Construction Corp.
Construction Manager (Animal Barn): Hybrid Construction
Client: Land’s Sake Farm
Photographers: Warren Jagger Photography; Robert Benson Photography
