Archive for: Frank Harmon

Jacob Burke Joins Frank Harmon Architect PA

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Former intern becomes full-time project designer at award-winning firm. 

 

April 11, 2013 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon, FAIA, founder and principal of the award-winning architectural firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, is pleased to announce that Jacob Burke has joined the firm as a full-time project designer.

A fourth generation Texan and woodworking enthusiast, Burke received an undergraduate degree in psychology from Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, then moved in Anchorage, Alaska. And it was in Alaska that he discovered his passion for architecture.

“I wanted to work with my hands and eventually realized that the process of planning or designing my own work was something that I enjoyed,” he said. “In architecture, there is a possibility for connection to materials and the natural world that psychology or business doesn’t foster. In Alaska, it became a real possibility for my wife and me to build our own house. Researching house construction and design is when I made the jump from furniture and woodworking to architecture.”

So he entered North Carolina State University’s College of Design.

“On my arrival at school, I realized that architectural theory can be highly analytical, dealing with many of the same abstract reasoning and processes of psychological theory,” he said. “Architecture, to this point, is a good pairing of the connection to the physical world and theory.”

Burke worked as an architectural intern in Frank Harmon’s office while he was in school. After he received his Master of Architecture degree in December of 2013, he joined the firm as a full-time architect.

For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, is also a Professor in Practice at NC State University. In 2011, his firm was ranked 21st out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine and Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s recent “RA 50: The short list of architects we love.” His firm’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, journals and online magazines on architecture, including ArchDaily.com, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, and Residential Architect. For more information:

Website: http://www.frankharmon.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/frankharmonarchitect?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/frankharmonarch

Tumblr: http://frankharmon.tumblr.com/

Frank Harmon Architect PA Wins South Atlantic Region Honor Award

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For the JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House in Raleigh

October 15, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon Architect PA, an award-winning architecture firm in Raleigh, NC, has received one of only two Honor Awards presented this year by the American Institute of Architect’s South Atlantic Region (SAR) for its design of the JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

The pro bono project, completed in October of 2010, is an open-air lath structure that replaced a previous dilapidated shade house adjacent to the arboretum’s Japanese garden. The 6800-square-foot lath house functions as a laboratory for experimental horticultural techniques and methods.

“It also shelters infant plants as they transition into the larger gardens on the arboretum grounds, so the design may be compared to an abstract tree that is spreading its branches to protect the tender plants,” said the firm’s principal and founder, Frank Harmon, FAIA.

Through its screen of carefully spaced pine lath supported on steel columns, the structure fulfills the specific light-to-shade ratio needed for the plants in the spring. The Lath House also provides an accessible community garden for the City of Raleigh and an educational asset to the State of North Carolina.

This is the third design award for Harmon’s Lath House project. In 2011 it received both an Honor Award from the AIA’s North Carolina chapter and a Merit Award from the Triangle section of AIA North Carolina.

The SAR jury noted that this year’s award-winning projects “evidence the depth and scope of AIA members’ design experience in a celebration of physical form and were carefully chosen to represent much of the finest work produced by AIA NC architects in 2012.

The award submissions were juried in August in Seattle, Washington. The jury was comprised of architects from the Seattle area: David Miller, FAIA, Chair; Scott Wolf, FAIA; Kirsten Murray, AIA; Susan Jones, FAIA; and Rick Zieve, FAIA.

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a 10-acre arboretum and botanical garden administered by North Carolina State University and located at 4415 Beryl Road in Raleigh. It is open to the public daily without charge. For more images and information on the Lath House, visit the Arborteum’s website and the project page on Harmon’s website.

For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, founded Frank Harmon Architect PA in 1985. His multi-award-winning firm specializes in modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate architecture and environmental education and research projects. This year the firm was ranked 17th out of the Top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine and Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s recent “RA 50: The short list of architects we love.”  Frank Harmon is also a Professor in Practice for the NC State University College of Design. For more information, visit www.frankharmon.com. The firm also maintains an active Facebook page.

Frank Harmon, FAIA, To Serve On Architect Magazine’s 2012 Design Review Jury

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Frank Harmon, FAIA. Photo by f8 Photo Studios

Raleigh architect will join other jurors in Washington, D.C.

October 3, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — Raleigh architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, has been asked to serve as a juror for ARCHITECT’s 2012 Design Review, the magazine’s annual awards. The jury will convene in the magazine’s offices in Washington, D.C., on October 18 and 19.

Katie Gerfen, the magazine’s Senior Editor of Design, invited Harmon to join the 2012 jury.

Frank Harmon is the founder and principal of the multi-award-winning firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh and a Professor In Practice for North Carolina State University’s College of Design. Nationally recognized as a leader in modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate design, his projects rang from small sheds to 70,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and are all informed by the principles of sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Earlier this year, ARCHITECT ranked Frank Harmon’s firm 17th among the “Top 50 Firms In The Nation” based on design excellence, business success, and commitment to sustainability.

Frank Harmon is also a frequent juror and jury chairman for professional design award programs across the U.S., but this will his first time on ARCHITECT’s Design Review jury.

“An architectural design awards program is like an X-ray,” Harmon said. “It gives a clear picture of what is current in the profession at a given point in time. The ARCHITECT magazine awards demonstrate what is best in architecture today. “

The Annual Design Review selects winners from built projects completed over the last year. American architects may submit projects no matter when they’re located. Non-American architects’ projects must be located in the United States to be eligible.

Categories for entries in the program are:

  • Work — Office, Government, and Commercial Mixed-Use
  • Play — Sports, Hospitality, and Retail
  • Live — Multifamily Housing, Single-Family Housing, & Residential Mixed-Use
  • Grow — Education, Science, and Healthcare
  • Move — Infrastructure and Transportation
  • Bond — Institutional, Cultural, and Religious

ARCHITECT, the official publication of the American Institute of Architects, will publish the winners in the December 2012 edition. For more information on the magazine, go to www.architect.com.

For more information on Frank Harmon, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon, FAIA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, is a Professor in Practice at NC State University and was the 1995 recipient of the Kamphoefner Prize for Distinguished Design over a Ten-Year Period. He founded his firm, Frank Harmon Architect PA, in 1985. This year, his firm was ranked 17th out of the Top 50 firms in the nation by ARCHITECT magazine, and he was included in Residential Architect magazine’s “RA 50: The Short List of Architects We Love.” His firm specializes in modern, sustainable, and regionally appropriate design and is perhaps best known for its environmental education projects. For more information, visit www.frankharmon.com.

Design Development Begins on Kidzu Children’s Museum in Chapel Hill

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September 13, 2012 (Chapel Hill, NC) — Design workshops begin this week on the larger, permanent home for Kidzu Children’s Museum in Chapel Hill, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to be designed by the multi-award-winning architectural firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh.  The design team includes two other nationally acclaimed design firms: The Portico Group from Seattle Washington and MIG from Berkeley California.

The new, larger museum will be built atop the Wallace Plaza rooftop parking deck between East Rosemary and East Franklin streets in downtown Chapel Hill.

Founded on the premise that early learning experiences are critical to later life success, and that children learn best through play, Kidzu is currently located in University Square at 123-B West Franklin Street. Since it opened in 2006, the museum has welcomed 175,000 vistors. In 2009, the Town of Chapel Hill gave Kidzu a 99-year lease for the parking deck roof site for $1 per year as a historic public–nonprofit partnership. On this site, Kidzu will be able to increase the size of its facility substantially, both inside and out, with ample room for future growth.

Frank Harmon’s firm is well known for its modern, sustainable, and regionally appropriate designs for educational purposes, such as the Walnut Creek Wetlands Park in Raleigh and the Children’s Nature Zoo at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. And as he did with those projects, Harmon will facilitate a series of design workshops, beginning this week, so that museum staff and community members from a wide range of backgrounds – including children — have opportunities for input.

The Harmon/Portico/MIG team is now challenged with accommodating a variety of design imperatives. They are to create:

·       An iconic facility that attracts visitors, reflects Kidzu’s identity as a playful, educational institution, and serves as a centerpiece for downtown Chapel Hill.

·       A museum-as-educational-tool — an environment that not only facilitates learning but also serves as a teaching tool, sharing lessons about design, engineering, art, environmental stewardship, history, culture and other relevant topics.

·       Space with abundant creativity, incorporating works of art and a wide range of creative elements.

·       A sustainable building that follows LEED standards and incorporates lessons about green design and sustainability.

·       A healthy environment for visitors that inspires physical activity and other healthy habits.

·       Connections to nature, both inside and out, through the use of natural light, natural materials, an abundance of plants, water elements, and related natural components.

·       A flexible environment (building, exhibits and site) to allow the museum to serve as many functions as possible and to meet unanticipated future needs.

·       A “living museum” that can evolve over time by combining flexibility, design for change, and the use of natural elements.

·       An environment that complements and relates to the historic surroundings, while also responding to the future in its design and function.

·       A playful and engaging environment designed with the needs of children in mind that also feels welcoming to adults, who comprise half of Kidzu’s visitors. The museum should be whimsical and playful and appealing to adults.

The Board of Directors anticipates completion of the new museum by 2015. For more information on Kidzu Children’s Museum, go to www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org.

For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, is also a Professor in Practice at NC State University. In 2011, his firm was ranked 21st out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine and Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s recent “RA 50: The short list of architects we love.” His firm’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, journals and online magazines on architecture, including ArchDaily.com, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, and Residential Architect. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com and find the firm on Facebook.

Frank Harmon Architect PA Hosts Opening Night for “Modernism at Risk”

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Raleigh firm supports international photography exhibit at AIA NC

The 1938 Goodyear house by Edward Durell Stone

headquarters.

May 24, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon Architect PA, a multi-award winning architectural firm in Raleigh, NC, will host Opening Night of “Modernism at Risk: Modern Solutions for Saving Modern Landmarks,” an international architectural photography exhibit that will be on display in the new AIA NC Center for Architecture and Design in Raleigh June 1-9.

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), the non-profit organization that archives, preserves and promotes modernist residential design, is bringing the exhibit to Raleigh, and has invited modernist architects in the Triangle to participate by hosting individual nights that it is on display. Frank Harmon, FAIA, who designed the new AIA NC Center, chose opening night, June 1, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Harmon will have samples of his work on display and be on hand to talk with those to attend opening night.

Frank Harmon, FAIA

“Modern architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler, George Matsumoto, and Harwell Hamilton Harris, were the inspiration for my career as an architect,” said Harmon. “Now, sadly, many of their buildings are endangered, and my goal in sponsoring ‘Modernism At Risk’ is to insure that buildings by these and other great modern architects survive to inspire future generations.”

A project of the World Monuments Fund, “Modernism at Risk” consists of 27 large-scale photographs, by noted photographer Andrew Moore, representing five case studies that explore the role designers play in preserving Modern landmarks. Two points central to the exhibit are: (1) engaging a larger public to care about modern buildings, and (2) demonstrating that these buildings can continue to be economically and functionally viable.

Exclusively for this exhibit, North Carolina State University is allowing TMH to display six architectural models rarely, if ever, seen by the public.

“Nothing teaches us about the history of architecture as much as walking through a building,” said Harmon, whose firm is known nationally for modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate design. “If we are to learn the lessons and promise of modernism, we need the buildings here to teach us.”

A Professor in Practice at NC State University’s College of Design, Harmon also lives in a modern house near the university in Raleigh that he designed, with gardens designed by his wife, Judy Harmon, ASLA.

Tickets to “Modernism at Risk’s” Opening Night are $6.95 in advance and $10 at the door. (Since the exhibit is being held in the new AIA NC headquarters, AIA members in good standing will receive free admission June 2-9, but not on Opening Night.) For more information and to reserve tickets, go to http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/atrisk.htm.

For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon Architect PA, a multi-award-winning firm headquartered in downtown Raleigh, is recognized nationally as a leader in innovative, modern, and regionally inspired “green” architecture. This year the firm was ranked 22nc out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine, an annual rating that emphasizes ecological commitment and design quality as much as profitability. Frank Harmon was also included in Residential Architect magazine’s “RA 50: a short list of architects we love.” Recent projects include Duke University’s Ocean Science Teaching Center in Beaufort, the NC Botanical Garden’s new Visitors Education Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Merchants Millpond Outdoor Educational building in Gatesville, N.C. The firm’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines and journals on architecture, including Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, Residential Architect, and ArchDaily. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com.

TMH Announces The George Matsumoto Prize – Calls For Entries

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George Matsumoto, FAIA

Unique Modernist architecture competition features blue-ribbon jury, public voting, and $6000 in honors.

May 10, 2012 (Durham, NC) – George Smart, Executive Director of Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), today announced the inaugural George Matsumoto Prize, a unique architecture competition to recognize recent achievement in North Carolina Modernist residential design. TMH is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist architecture.

The Prize is named for George Matsumoto, FAIA, one of the founding faculty members of the North Carolina State University School of Design (now College of Design), internationally known for his mid-century Modernist houses in North Carolina and elsewhere. Matsumoto will serve as Honorary Chair on the jury of well-recognized architects, including Frank Harmon, FAIA, (Chair), Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, David Jameson, FAIA, Tom Kundig, FAIA, and Larry Scarpa, FAIA.

“George Matsumoto was the preeminent Modernist designer in North Carolina in the 1950s,” said jury chair Frank Harmon. “As he made a lasting impression through his buildings and his influence on a generation of students, it is appropriate to honor him through this design awards program as a means of continuing his legacy of good modern design.”

The George Matsumoto Prize is unique among design competitions for four reasons:

1.     The Matsumoto Prize is open to both architects and designers anywhere in the world who have designed houses built in North Carolina since 2006.

2.     To encourage participation while recognizing the expense of preparing submissions, winners of the Matsumoto Prize receive honors of $3000, $2000, and $1000, respectively.

3.     For the first time ever in a North Carolina design competition, the public will participate as a juror, voting for their favorite houses. The public’s three favorites will receive a special certificate.

4.     The Matsumoto Prize is transparent – submitters identify themselves and their firms.

TMH’s objectives in creating the Matsumoto Prize are “to expand the public’s awareness about the great inventory of North Carolina Modernist houses, to showcase the skills of the North Carolina residential design community, and to inform the public that great design can be well within a homebuyer’s reach,” said George Smart.

“These entries will inspire people dreaming of a Modernist house to know Modernist design is affordable, efficient, sustainable, and most importantly, a house their families will love decades,” he added. “By using an architect or designer, you can have a house, or you can have a great house, for the same budget.”

Competition rules, submission procedures, and deadlines are available online at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/prize.htm.

About Triangle Modernist Houses: 

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is an award-winning 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. The award-winning website is the largest open digital archive for Modernist residential design in America. TMH also hosts popular house tours and trips several times a year. For more information: www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also maintains an active community on Facebook.

NCSU Landscape Architecture Lecture Series To Feature Frank Harmon, FAIA

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Award-winning architect will discuss how the two professions can, and should, work together.

February 22, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh and Professor in Practice at the North Carolina State University College of Design, will

Frank Harmon, FAIA

give the February 27 lecture for the 2011-12 Landscape Architecture Lecture Series. His theme will be “How architects and landscape architects can work together.”

Free and open to the public, Harmon’s lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the Burns Auditorium in Kamphoefner Hall.

A nationally recognized leader in modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate architecture, Harmon says he will discuss the urban and rural landscape, how architecture fits into it, and how architects and landscape architects can combine efforts “to leave the landscape better than we found it,” he said.

“For the past two decades I’ve chosen to have a landscape architect working beside me when I begin a design,” Harmon said. “At Merchants Millpond in eastern North Carolina, for example, I canoed and camped with landscape architect David Swanson before we drew the first line for the new Environmental Education Center there. I teamed with landscape architect Gregg Bleam to design the recently completed AIA NC Center for Architecture and Design in downtown Raleigh.”

Harmon frequently asserts that the most important decision an architect makes is how to position a building on its site. “That particular throw of the dice determines everything that follows: orientation, aspect and prospect, day lighting, cross ventilation, hydrology, micro-climate, and most importantly, a sense of place. My belief that all good architecture begins with the land makes me value and appreciate landscape architects’ skills and understanding.”

The 2011-12 Landscape Architecture Lecture Series is produced by the Department of Landscape Architecture in partnership with the Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Landscape Architecture Advisory Council.

For more information on Frank Harmon, visit www.frankharmon.com

About Frank Harmon, FAIA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, is a Professor in Practice at NC State University and was the 1995 recipient of the Kamphoefner Prize for Distinguished Design over a Ten-Year Period. He founded his firm, Frank Harmon Architect PA, in 1985. In 2011, his firm was ranked 21st out of the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect magazine, and was included in Residential Architect magazine’s “RA 50: The Short List of Architects We Love.” Harmon’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines and journals on architecture, including Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, and Residential Architect. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com.

“Appetite4Architecture” Dinner Features Special Guest Frank Harmon

Categories: architecture, events, Frank Harmon Architect PA, green architecture, mid-century architecture, modern architecture
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The first in a series of dinners sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses.

Frank Harmon, FAIA

January 18, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon FAIA, founder and principal of the award-winning firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, will be a featured guest at the first 2012 “Appetite4Architecture” dinner on Tuesday, January 31, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in 18 Seaboard restaurant in Raleigh.

Now in its third year, “Appetite4Architecture” dinners are sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design. The purpose of the dinners is to give the general public a chance to dine with, and talk with, some of the Triangle area’s finest architects in a relaxed, informal setting.

Frank Harmon is well known for modern, innovative, sustainable and regionally appropriate architecture of all types, including houses. Among his best known, award-winning residential designs are:

  • The Taylor Vacation House in the Bahamas, which is included in the book Tropical Modernism and was featured in an exhibit in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., among many other accolades.
  • The Strickland-Ferris Residence in Raleigh, which has been featured in a number of architectural magazines and received both Custom Home and Wood Design awards.
  • The Low Country Residence in Mount Pleasant, SC, which also received a Custom Home Design Award and a national AIA Housing Award.
  • And the own modern home and gardens he shares with his wife, landscape architect Judy Harmon, in Raleigh, which were featured in Sarah Susanka’s book Outside The Not-So-Big House.

In 2011, Frank Harmon was included in Residential Architect magazine’s “RA 50: A Short List of Architects We Love,” and in 2005 his firm received the magazine’s “Top Firm of the Year” honor. He has been profiled in Dwell magazine and Architectural Record, and he has been a featured guest on American Public Media’s “The Story” with Dick Gordon.

Joining Harmon for TMH’s inaugural 2012 “A4A” dinner will be Durham architect Ellen Cassilly, AIA, who worked in Harmon’s firm before founding her own firm Ellen Cassilly Architect Inc., and Randy Lanou, president of BuildSense/Studio B Architecture, also in Durham. Dona Aguayo of Go Realty is co-sponsoring the January 31 dinner.

The TMH “A4A” dinners are all held at 18 Seaboard, 18 Seaboard Avenue, No. 100, Raleigh, NC 27604. The dinners include three courses from a preselected menu (vegetarian options are available) plus coffee, water, tea, tax, and gratuity. Price per person is $53. Tickets are available at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/a4a. Payments are nonrefundable except for event cancellation. All proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and house tours programs. For more information on TMH call George Smart, 919-740-8407 or visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

For more information on Frank Harmon, visit www.frankharmon.com.

About Frank Harmon, FAIA:

Frank Harmon, FAIA, is principal Frank Harmon Architect PA, and Professor in Practice at North Carolina State University’s College of Design. His work has been featured in numerous books, journals and magazines, including Dwell, Architect, Architectural Record, Arch Daily.com, and Residential Architect. A frequent lecturer on modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate architecture, he serves on design awards juries across the nation. For more information, visit www.frankharmon.com.

Triangle Modernist Houses Announces The 2012 “Appetite4Architecture” Series

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A4A dinners bring architects and the public together in a social atmosphere.

January 9, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) has announced its third “Appetite4Architecture” series of dinners that give the public the chance to enjoy relaxed, informal discussions in an upscale dining environment, where diners have direct access to some of the area’s best residential architects and professionals.

TMH is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design.

“Dreaming of a new Modernist house? Long admired the work of a local architect or designer? Thinking about architecture as a career? Appetite4Architecture offers a chance to break bread with prominent members of the Triangle’s design community in an intimate, affordable small group setting,” said TMH founder and board chair George Smart. “There are no presentations or PowerPoint slides — just great conversations with award-winning cuisine.”

The schedule and special guests for the 2012 A4A dinners:

Again this year, the “A4A” dinners will be held at 18 Seaboard in Raleigh and begin at 6:30 p.m. The dinners include three courses from a preselected menu (vegetarian options are available) plus coffee, water, tea, tax, and gratuity. Price per person is $53. Tickets are available at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/a4a.

TMH requires a minimum of 10 participants per event (maximum 17). Otherwise the event will be cancelled with full refunds. If someone purchases a ticket but then can’t attend, substitutions are allowed. Payments are nonrefundable except for event cancellation. All proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and house tours programs. For more information call George Smart, 919-740-8407.

For more information on TMH, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses was established in 2007 to document, preserve, and promote Modernist residential design. The award-winning website is now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America. TMH also hosts Modernist house tours several times a year. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “livable works of art” for future generations. Visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

The House That Steve Jobs Grew Up In, And How It Shaped Apple

Categories: architecture, mid-century architecture, modern architecture
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Essay and sketches by Frank Harmon, FAIA 

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,” Winston Churchill said, and perhaps no place has the power to shape us like the place where we grow up.

Lyndon Johnson was born in the hardscrabble and desperately poor Hill Country of Texas. His life and political legacy were shaped by the threadbare surroundings of his childhood.

Steve Jobs grew up in a small, modern house in Mountain View, California. So important was the house that he took his biographer, Walter Isaacson, there to show him the many ingenious details of its design — like the radiant floor and the open plan and windows that brought the outdoors in. It’s nice to think that the man many call a genius grew up in a house with ingenious details.

Joseph Eichler, a California developer noted for bringing good design to the mass housing market, built Jobs’ childhood home. Eichler homes were airy and modern in comparison to most of the mass-produced, middle-class, postwar homes being built in the 1950s. Eichler believed that people of modest means could have beautiful things.

Including the modest family who adopted Steve Jobs.

The clean elegance of the Eichler home, available to everyone, was the original vision for Apple, according to Jobs. “That’s what we tried to do with the first Mac,” he recalled. “That’s what we did with the iPod.”

Paul Jobs made a place on his garage workbench so his young son could work beside him. Outside he built a fence around their Eichler home, crafting the back of the fence to look as good as the front. Steve Jobs never forgot that lesson, and would insist that every element of his Apple products should be beautiful, not just on the outside but even on the inside. “But no one will see it,” his engineers groaned when he insisted on a beautiful hidden circuit board. “But I will!” Jobs replied.

Apple stores were conceived of and meticulously supervised by Steve Jobs. From the open plan to the glass stairs, no detail was unimportant. They are the 21st century embodiment of Paul Jobs’ workbench in Mountain View. We are used to thinking that the digital world is placeless, but in the digital world of Jobs, place mattered.

A student of Zen, Jobs absorbed the belief of Dogen Zenji, a Zen master who wrote, “Whoever told people that ‘mind’ means thoughts opinions, ideas, and concepts? Mind means trees, fence posts, tiles, and grasses.” And, we might add, IPods, workbenches, and Eichler homes.

Like Eichler, Jobs brought beauty to ordinary things. He shaped the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. Now they shape us.

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