The Chester county farmhouse vernacular leads to a sense of durability by rooting the building in the region’s architectural history. Crumbling walls add to this temporal quality, suggesting fossils in the landscape. Also, stone is a material that suggests the effort applied in its harvesting, use and construction is meaningful and meant to last. These large, rustic walls are also located to unite the building and its occupants to the site by responding to views. As a reminder of the inability to separate ourselves from that which surrounds us and even comprises us, elements of nature are introduced to the architecture. Grass roofs are an extension of the surrounding field; views and materials suggest an extension of the interior to that beyond. The house begins to create a character rather than merely taste.