This thesis represents a series and hierarchy of architectural ideas explored through the vessel of one design project; a multi-generational family farm house in Blacksburg, Virginia. The relationship between ideas of courtyard and farmyard, as joined and segregated spaces, is one level of exploration. Another is the relationship between such spaces, joined and segregated, within the interior of the main house. From these primary ideas emerged several other ideas related to nature and qualities of these spaces as built entities, such as meaning, proportion, pattern, and material.