The Onera Foundation believes that historic and significant American architecture is a vital part of the nation’s culture, worth protecting in the same way we do for other national treasures.
The Onera Foundation advocates for the preservation of historic American architecture by funding exhibitions and innovative programming, including art and film. The Foundation also supports education by funding the Onera Prize at Columbia University. The Foundation believes creative programming and new academic research will deepen the public’s understanding of America’s significant, historic architecture.
The Onera Foundation’s landmarked building in New Canaan, CT, hosts exhibitions, lectures and other public programming to highlight the importance of historic preservation and significant architecture.
Leadership
Founder and President
David B. Peterson
David B. Peterson is the Author of US Embassies of the Cold War: The Architecture of Democracy, Diplomacy and Defense, and the Founder of the Onera Foundation and CEO of the Onera Group. He has spent the majority of his career in investment banking at Rothschild, Citibank, and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Peterson is the Board Chair of the Harlem Academy school, a Board Member of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, and serves on the Advisory Council of the Glass House, a National Trust Historic Site in New Canaan, Connecticut. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.B.A. from New York University, and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University.
Executive Director
Laurence Lafforgue
Laurence Lafforgue leads Onera’ss strategic initiatives expansion. Ms. Lafforgue has managed more than twenty major exhibitions and public programs at the intersection of art and preservation as a partner at Otero-Pailos Studio. Previously, she founded ArtWeLove, a first-generation digital publisher that produced over one hundred limited-edition prints in collaboration with leading international artists. She also directed strategic communications campaigns for global clients at Ogilvy and consulted for leading cultural institutions including the National Gallery of Art.
She is an advisor to the DAG Foundation, a grant-making artist-endowed foundation, and as a member of ArtTable, the leading professional organization for women in the arts in the United States.
Ms. Lafforgue holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Paris Dauphine University and earned certification from the Aspen Institute’s Artists-Endowed Foundation Initiative.
Location
The Onera Foundation is housed in a landmarked 1836 Greek Revival building in New Canaan, CT—an architectural and cultural center just one hour from New York City.
One hour from New York City, New Canaan is home to a large collection of significant mid-century modern houses built by architects such as Marcel Breuer, John Johansen, Landis Gores, Philip Johnson, and Eliot Noyes. Cultural sites in New Canaan include the Grace Farms Foundation and its award-winning building designed by SANAA and Philip Johnson's Glass House, one of the 27 sites owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Foundation is located in the Historic District commonly referred to as "God's Acre." It is only a few steps from the New Canaan train station and adjacent to the central business district.
The House
Built in 1836 by Hiram Crissey, a skilled carpenter and deacon of the Congregational Church, this Greek Revival house has served as a boarding house, grammar school, and, most notably from 1924 to 1947, the home of famed editor Maxwell E. Perkins, who discovered literary greats including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Thomas Wolfe.
In 1973, architect Richard Bergmann and his wife, Sandra, restored the then-subdivided building into a private home and office, undertaking major structural reinforcement and preserving original woodwork. Under their care, the home became Connecticut’s first Literary Landmark in 2002 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The Onera Foundation acquired the property in 2018. The Foundation’s recent renovation further preserved historic features while creating an ideal venue for exhibitions, lectures, and public programs.
The Gardens
Former owner Richard Bergmann, a noted landscape architect and sculptor, designed a modernist garden featuring stepped terraces and preserved the hemlock grove planted by Louise Perkins.The gardens are included in the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens. Three of Bergmann’s sculptures still grace the grounds.