Archive for: modern architecture

The TMH/Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series Presents “The Pruit-Igoe Myth”

Categories: Triangle Modernist Houses
Comments (0)

Architecture’s failure to transform public housing.

December 16, 2012 (Raleigh, NC)  – Triangle Modernist Houses’ Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series continues in January with a special screening of “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” on Thursday, January 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Raleigh Grande.

Pruitt–Igoe was a 33-building urban housing project in St. Louis, Missouri, designed by architect Minoru Yamasak, who also designed the former World Trade Center towers. It was named for Wendell O. Pruitt, an African-American fighter pilot in World War II, and William L. Igoe, former U.S. Congressman. Costing $36 million, 60 percent above the national average for public housing at the time, the design was heralded as a transformative tool for the disadvantaged; the architects and city planners sold the project to the public on the belief that good design would make a hugely positive difference in people’s lives.

However, living conditions in Pruitt–Igoe began to decline very soon after completion in 1956.By the late 1960s, the complex was internationally infamous for its poverty, crime, and segregation.  At 3 p.m. on March 16, 1972, the Pruitt-Igoe complex was destroyed in a dramatic and highly publicized implosion, and it became a symbol of urban renewal and public-policy planning failure among architects, politicians, and policy makers.

“Pruitt-Igoe has lived on symbolically as an icon of failure,” wrote Alexander von Hoffman for the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University. “Liberals perceive it as exemplifying the government’s appalling treatment of the poor. Architectural critics cite it as proof of the failure of high-rise public housing for families with children. One critic even asserted that its destruction signaled the end of the modern style of architecture.”

Directed by Chad Freidrichs, “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” documentary explores the social, economic, and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing nationally while tracing the several of the project’s residents’ narratives. To view a trailer of “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth,” go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

Sponsored by Blueplate PR, the documentary will be screened at the Raleigh Grande, located at 4840 Grove Barton Road, Raleigh NC 27613, just off Lynn Road and Glenwood Avenue/Highway 70 West (919-226-2012). Series sponsors include Modern Home Auctions, GoRealty, The Kitchen Specialist, Carrington Electric, and VMZINC.

Individual admission is $9 per person per film, available at the door. Mod Squad members are admitted free. Proceeds benefit Triangle Modernist Houses’ ongoing mission of documenting, preserving, and promoting modernist residential architecture.

The last film of this year’s series is “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” on February 7. For more information on TMH, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 and dedicated to restoring and growing Modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog, preserve, and advocate for North Carolina Modernism.  TMH also hosts popular Modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle’s most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “livable works of art” for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

Iconic Burroughs Wellcome Headquarters Open For Rare Public Tour

Categories: Triangle Modernist Houses
Comments (0)

Triangle Modernist Houses sponsors one-day tour of Paul Rudolph’s Only NC Project

October 8, 2012 (Research Triangle Park, NC) — The internationally renowned Burroughs Wellcome Headquarters building in Research Triangle Park, designed by the late Paul Rudolph, FAIA, has not been open for public tour 30 years. That will change on Saturday, October 20th, when Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) sponsors a rare public tour of the building from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Known as the Elion-Hitchings building since 1988, honoring Nobel prize-winning chemists Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings, the futuristic, tiered structure is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Triangle and one of architect Rudolph’s most compelling achievements.  The building has been closed to the public for decades as pharmaceutical companies Glaxo, Glaxo Wellcome, and Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) were actively using it as office and laboratory space.

Rudolph, dean of the Yale School of Architecture for six years, began designing the building in 1969. Construction was completed in 1971, at which time Burroughs Wellcome relocated its U.S. headquarters from Tuckahoe, New York, to North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.  Rudolph described the building, known for its extensive use of concrete and highly complex floor plans, as a “man-made extension of the ridge upon which it is built,” hence the structure’s angular shape. 

In 1981, part of the sci-fi thriller “Brainstorm” was filmed there, starring Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken. The tour will access five floors, including the executive area where the movie was filmed, as well as the lobby, library, office areas, auditorium, cafeteria, and many offices. 

TMH founder and director George Smart arranged the tour through United Therapeutics, the building’s new owner since June 2012.  “Rudolph started his career designing Modernist houses in Florida,” said Smart.  “As the building is unoccupied prior to renovation, this is the perfect moment.  This is the public’s only chance to see his work.  The building is his only project in North Carolina.“

According to Smart, United Therapeutics has committed to preserving the Modernist Elion-Hitchings building and will begin renovation later this fall as part of the growing company’s RTP expansion.  “We extend our heartfelt thanks to UT for arranging this exceptionally rare opportunity for the public to experience the Elion-Hitchings building,” he said. “UT has been great to work with.”

Advance, timed admission tickets are $9.95 per person for the public, $7.95 per person for TMH Mod Squad members, or $15 per person at the door if the tour does not sell out.   Children who are carried or are in strollers are free.

Photography is allowed inside and outside, but food and beverages are not.  Tour-goers must sign a liability release before entering.  All proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion projects.

For more details on the tour and to purchase advance tickets, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/bwtour. For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is an award-winning 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting modernist architecture in the Triangle region. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog and advocate for North Carolina modernism. TMH also hosts popular Modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle’s most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “livable works of art” for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

Raleigh’s Pecha Kucha Night To Feature “Mayberry Modernism”

Categories: Triangle Modernist Houses
Comments (0)

George Smart of Triangle Modernist Houses to present the 7-minute version of his popular presentation.

February 14, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses’ founder George Smart will be one of the rapid-fire presenters at Pecha Kucha Night in Raleigh on Wednesday, February 22, presenting  “Mayberry Modernism: Why North Carolina Is America’s Hotspot For Way Cool Houses.”

Pecha Kucha is the Japanese word for “chit-chat.” Participants share ideas in a fast-paced, high-energy manner in no more than six minutes and 40 seconds.

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is an award-winning, non-profit organization Smart founded in 2007 to document, preserve, and promote modernist residential design. “Mayberry Modernism” spotlights many of North Carolina’s modernist houses from the 1950s to today. TMH draws over 50,000 hits a month to its vast digital archives, with nearly 15,000 photos.

The theme for this year’s Pecha Kucha Night in Raleigh is “Love of Community,” which segues perfectly with “Mayberry Modernism,” according to Smart.

“I’ll share how – and why – I and so many people have come together around a love of North Carolina Modernist houses,” he said.

Smart has presented Mayberry Modernism to Pecha Kucha events in Raleigh and Charlotte. He also regularly presents a speech-length version, “Mayberry Modernism: North Carolina’s Modernist Legacy,” across North Carolina to preservation groups, sections of the American Institute of Architecture, and professional realtors’ associations, among others.

Pecha Kucha Night will take place at The Union Tavern in downtown Raleigh, 327 West Davie Street, #114. Doors open at 5:40 p.m.  The event is free, but space is very limited and sells out, so audience members are encouraged to get their free tickets early at http://pknraleigh.com/register/.

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

North Regional Library Hosts “Mayberry Modernism”

Categories: architecture, events, historic preservation, landscape architecture, mid-century architecture, modern architecture, news, non-profit
Comments (0)

Triangle Modernist Houses’ George Smart will discuss NC’s modernist legacy.

George Smart, founder and director, Triangle Modernist Houses

 

April 25, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) — George Smart, founder and director of the award-winning non-profit Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), will present his signature talk “Mayberry Modernism: North Carolina’s Modernist Legacy” at the North Regional Library, 7009 Harps Mill Road in Raleigh on Wednesday, May 11, from 7-9 p.m.

“Most people, even architects, are surprised that the Triangle has the third largest number of Modernist houses in America,” Smart said. “Mayberry Modernism discusses why we have so many and shares photographs of over 50 eye-popping houses from past and the present.”

“Mayberry Modernism” showcases the state’s surprisingly large collection of Modernist residences from the 1950s through today, particularly those in the Triangle region. Many of these houses are in great shape, but some are endangered and many have been destroyed.

Smart’s discovery of the Triangle’s large number of “livable works of art” in 2007 led him to found Triangle Modernist Houses.com. Today, the TMH website is the largest single archive of Modernist residential architecture, and those who design it, in the nation.

George Smart is a passionate advocate for Modernist architecture who continues to facilitate the public’s discovery of the state’s architectural legacy through TMH’s extensive website, public house tours, architecture trips outside the region, dinners with residential architects, and many other events. TMH also actively preserves existing Modernist houses by maintaining the state’s largest list of Modernist properties for sale.

The North Regional Library event follows a similar presentation Smart made at the Cameron Village Library in April.

“Mayberry Modernism” is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the library at 919-870-4000.

For more information on George Smart and TMH, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

 About Triangle Modernist Houses

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to restoring and growing modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog, preserve, and advocate for North Carolina modernism.  TMH also hosts popular modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle’s most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “livable works of art” for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

Cameron Village Library To Host “Mayberry Modernism”

Categories: architecture, downtown Raleigh, education, events, historic preservation, mid-century architecture, modern architecture, news, non-profit
Comments (0)

Triangle Modernist Houses’ George Smart will discuss NC’s modernist legacy.

George Smart

George Smart of Triangle Modernist Houses

 

March 10, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) — George Smart, founder and director of the award-winning non-profit Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), will present his signature talk “Mayberry Modernism: North Carolina’s Modernist Legacy” at the Cameron Village Library in Raleigh on Thursday, March 31, from 7-9 p.m.

 

“Most people, even architects, are surprised that the Triangle has the third largest number of Modernist houses in America,” Smart said. “Mayberry Modernism discusses why we have so many and shares photographs of over 50 eye-popping houses from past and the present.”

 

Smart’s presentation showcases the state’s surprisingly large collection of Modernist residences from the 1950s through today, particularly those in the Triangle region. Many of these houses are in great shape, but some are endangered and many have been destroyed.

 

Smart’s discovery of the Triangle’s large number of “livable works of art” led to the creation of a non-profit, Triangle Modernist Houses.com, in 2007. Today, the TMH website is the largest single archive of Modernist residential architecture in the nation.

 

Smart is a passionate advocate for Modernist architecture. He continues to facilitate the public’s discovery of the state’s architectural legacy through TMH’s extensive website, public house tours, architecture trips outside the region, dinners with residential architects, and many other events. TMH also actively preserves existing Modernist houses by maintaining the state’s largest list of Modernist properties for sale.

 

“Mayberry Modernism” is free and open to the public. Cameron Village Regional Library is located in the Cameron Village Shopping Center at 1930 Clark Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27605. For more information, please call 856-6703 or email Patti.Huopana@wakegov.com.

 

For more information on George Smart and TMH, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

 

About Triangle Modernist Houses

 

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to restoring and growing modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog, preserve, and advocate for North Carolina modernism.  TMH also hosts popular modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle’s most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “livable works of art” for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

Triangle Modernist Houses' logo

 

 

Construction Begins On AIA NC’s New, “Green” Headquarters

Categories: architecture, business, downtown Raleigh, environmentalism, garden design, green architecture, land planning, landscape architecture, modern architecture
Comments (0)

Future LEED- Platinum building breaks ground in downtown Raleigh.

 

December 8, 2010 (RALEIGH, NC) – After two years of planning and waiting for financing, the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects will finally hold its official, public groundbreaking ceremony for its new headquarters building and design center on Thursday, December 9, at 11:30 a.m. The building will be constructed on an oddly shaped, previously unused lot on Peace and Wilmington streets between Peace College and the NC Government Complex.

 

Designed by Frank Harmon Architect PA after the firm won a professional competition for the project in 2008, the AIA NC Center for Architecture & Design will be “a modern building with a green heart,” as Frank Harmon, FAIA, likes to call it.

 

The building has been designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards at the highest Platinum level, and AIA Committee On The Environment (COTE) goals, which include regional appropriateness and the use of regionally available materials, land use and site ecology, sustainable materials and methods of construction, reduced water usage, and increased energy efficiency.

 

“As we come out of the recession, we won’t be building in the same wasteful ways,” Harmon said. “With new emphasis on alternative energy and sustainable design, the AIA NC Center will show us a new way to build.”

 

Harmon also believes the Center will be a compelling example for responsible revitalization of the cores of towns and cities across the state, including Raleigh.

 

“It will demonstrate sustainable urban development and put Raleigh ‘on the map’ as a leader in this endeavor,” he noted, “from re-using every shovel of earth removed for the footprint, to the porously paved parking garden and state-of-the-art ‘green’ technology.”

 

Deferring to the natural topography, the new building will be situated along the edge of the property and porously paved so that the majority of the site will be park-like – a public park in an area of the city that doesn’t have one. This will provide an outdoor gathering space for AIA NC and community events and effectively expand AIA NC’s outreach program.

 

“One of AIA NC’s goals is to contribute to the vitality of that section of downtown by transforming an awkward, unused piece of property into a ‘people center’ that will, in turn, impact the businesses around it,” Harmon said.

 

Architecturally, the overriding objective of the building’s concept is “to demonstrate and encourage aesthetic and ecological integrity – to create a flagship for green architecture in North Carolina that is architecturally, environmentally, socially, and aesthetically inspiring,” Harmon said.

 

Construction should be completed in 10-12 months.

 

For more information on the building’s design, visit www.frankharmon.com/current/3/. For more information on AIA NC, visit www.aianc.org.

 

Frank Harmon-Designed Houses To Be Featured On Two Triangle Homes Tours

Categories: architecture, downtown Raleigh, green architecture, Interior Design, modern architecture, news
Comments (0)

The Karmous-Edwards House

August 16, 2010 (RALEIGH, NC) – The residential work of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh will be well represented on two major Triangle-area home tours this fall. In fact, Frank Harmon Architect PA is the only architectural firm with projects on both tours.

Harmon’s Karmous-Edwards house in Raleigh’s Coley Forest neighborhood will be open for public touring during Triangle Modernist Houses’ “TMH Modern 2010” tour in Raleigh on September 25. Completed in 1998, the house features deep overhanging rooflines and natural cedar shingles. It is nestled into the edge of a large corner lot, preserving most of the property for a park-like setting. Porches and a large terrace extend the indoors into the landscaping. The house was featured in Raleigh Metro Magazine in 2006.

Harmon’s award-winning Strickland-Ferris house in the Laurel Hills neighborhood will be featured in the first-ever homes tour sponsored by the Triangle section the American Institute of Architect’s North Carolina chapter (AIA Triangle) a week later on October 2. Completed in 2004, the house perches on a steep, wooded hillside above Crabtree Creek on broad-shouldered wood trusses for minimal site disturbance. The northern elevation features a glass and steel façade from floor to ceiling. A butterfly-shaped roof seems to hover above it.

The Strickland-Ferris House

The Strickland-Ferris house has received both AIA North Carolina and AIA Triangle design awards. In 2009, it won the Grand Award in Custom Home Magazine’s Custom Home Design Awards. It has been featured in Architectural Record, Dwell, Wood Design & Building, and Raleigh Metro magazines, and was included in Triangle Modernist Houses’ 2009 fall homes tour.

Frank Harmon Architect PA was founded by Frank Harmon, FAIA, in 1985. For more information on his firm and other projects, visit www.frankharmon.com.

For more information on the TMH Modern 2010 Tour, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/2010.

For more information on the AIA Triangle homes tour go to www.trianglehomestour.com.

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon Architect PA, headquartered in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, is recognized nationally for its modern, sustainable, regionally inspired architecture. The firm has received more AIA NC awards than any other firm in the state and has been featured in numerous books, journals and magazines on architecture, including Dwell, Architect, Architectural Record, and Residential Architect. Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal, is also a Professor in Practice for North Carolina State University’s College of Design; a frequent lecturer on modern, sustainable, regionally inspired architecture; and has served on numerous design awards juries. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com.

Triangle Modernist Houses Hosts FLW Fallingwater Tour

Categories: architecture, mid-century architecture, modern architecture, news, non-profit
Comments (0)

Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece.

Pennsylvania Architecture Tour features Frank Lloyd Wright’s world-famous “Fallingwater,” “Kentuck Knob,” and more.

July 19, 2010 (DURHAM, NC) – What special house is on many people’s “bucket list”?

Celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright is an American icon and his “Fallingwater” in Mill Run, PA, is a masterpiece of residential architecture.  On Saturday and Sunday, September 18th and 19th, Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) will take 26 people to Fallingwater, plus Kentuck Knob, a nearby house also designed by Wright, and the Abrams house by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Robert Venturi.

Fallingwater was originally commissioned for the Kaufmann family in Pittsburgh. The tour will include a special “Sunset Tour” with a private wine and cheese reception on the house’s famous bridge overlooking the waterfall (weather permitting).

“This house is simply incredible. Nothing from a book or video prepares you for the experience of visiting it in person,” says George Smart, who first made the pilgrimage in 2007.  “I came back with my design sensibilities shifted and with renewed priorities with my wife for starting a new Modernist house of our own.”

TMH will visit Wright’s Kentuck Knob house and sculpture garden, still privately owned, plus the Betty and Irving Abrams house designed by Robert Venturi with interior design by Noel Jeffrey. In the Abrams house, no walls separate the home’s kitchen, living room, bars and dining room, all of which are visible as soon as you enter the first floor. The home’s most dramatic feature is a floor-to-ceiling window shaped like a ship’s wheel and divided into eight sections.

Tickets will include round-trip direct air to Pittsburgh, wi-fi equipped bus transportation while there, catered lunches, overnight hotel accommodations, and tour admissions.  Architects receive self-reported CEU hours if arranged in advance with the AIA. Proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion projects.

The TMH Fallingwater Tour marks the third major out-of-state modernist architecture trip organized and hosted by George Smart, TMH founder and Board Chair. Previous tours included New York City and Washington, D.C.

For all details on the TMH Fallingwater Tour, including schedule and pricing, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/flw.htm.  At the time of this release, there were only 12 places left.

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to restoring and growing modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog, preserve, and advocate for North Carolina modernism.  TMH also hosts popular modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle’s most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “works of art” for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

2010 Modernist Home Tour Destinations Unveiled

Categories: architecture, environmentalism, green architecture, historic preservation, mid-century architecture, modern architecture
Comments (0)

The de Comarmond house in Cameron Village, a modernist renovation.

Triangle Modernist Houses’ Raleigh Tour features eight plus one iconic office building.


June 15, 2010 (RALEIGH, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses today unveiled the eight architecturally remarkable homes and one commercial space that comprise the “TMH Modern 2010,” the non-profit organization’s 13th home tour, on Saturday, September 25, from 1- 430 p.m. in Raleigh.

The private homes that will be open to ticketholders are:

- The Milton Small House on Lake Boone Trail, designed by Milton Small, FAIA, and built by Frank Walser.

- The Laurent P. de Comarmond, AIA, Modernist house renovation on Graham Street in Cameron Village.

- The Parker House, designed by Carter Williams, FAIA, on Banbury Road, renovation design by Perry Cox.

- The Karmous-Edwards House, Runnymede Road, designed by Frank Harmon, FAIA.

- The Heather and Bo Taylor House, Graham Street in Cameron Village, designed and built by Will Alphin.

- The Jim Kuehn Residence, located on Fairall Street, designed by Brian Shawcroft, AIA.

- The Ron Collier House, on Manning Drive, designed by architect/owner Ron Collier, AIA.

- The Harwell Hamilton Harris, FAIA, home and office on Cox Avenue, designed by Harwell Hamilton Harris, FAIA. 

As an added attraction, the TMH Modern 2010 will also include a tour of the Milton Small Office Building on Hillsborough Street, designed by Milton Small, FAIA, and built by Frank Walser. The Small Office Building is a designated Raleigh Historic Landmark and frequently studied by students at NC State’s College of Design.  It is strikingly similar to Small’s house, also on the tour.

Triangle Modernist Houses offers the longest-running, professionally organized architectural tours in the region and the only tours that focus on Modernist design. TMH founder and director George Smart also notes the “green” aspect of TMH’s tours:

“By using shuttle buses instead of having hundreds of participants drive individual cars, we dramatically reduce the event’s carbon footprint,” he said. “Our tour-goers park in a central lot and leave their driving hassles behind. An air-conditioned bus from our fleet arrives at each house every nine minutes. So in just a few hours, they experience some of the area’s best architecture and construction through rare and unique access to the coolest private houses.”

Photography is allowed and encouraged inside and outside all the buildings.

Tickets to TMH Modern 2010 are $24.95 in advance or $29.95 on the day of the tour. Tickets are available now through the TMH website: www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/2010

Proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing Modernist documentation, preservation, and promotion programs.

Sponsors for the TMH Modern 2010 include Preservation North Carolina, Beyond Blue Interiors, Modern Homes Network, the Cameron Art Museum, Tonic Design + Build, Earp & Associates, The North Carolina Symphony, Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Eidolon Design, Center Studio Architecture, Ambiente International, Historic Charlotte, the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Quail Ridge Books & Music, and Architecture for Humanity. Companies can still sign on as sponsors by contacting George Smart at 919-740-8407.

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses and more details on the fall tour, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to restoring and growing modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog, preserve, and advocate for North Carolina modernism.  TMH also hosts popular modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle’s most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “works of art” for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.

Frank Harmon To Moderate Atlanta Discussion, Present Lecture

Categories: architecture, education, environmentalism, green architecture, modern architecture
Comments (0)

Frank Harmon, FAIA

January 15, 2010 (RALEIGH, NC) – Award-winning architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, will serve as moderator for a panel discussion entitled “Architecturally Speaking: Discussions on Staying Current in Architecture Curricula” during the Winter Symposium presented by American Institute of Architects’ Atlanta, GA, chapter.

The symposium, including a question-and-answer session following the panel discussion, will be held at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture on Tuesday, January 19th, from 6-8 p.m.

Bringing together three schools of architecture in Georgia, the panelists include George Johnston, director of the Georgia Tech Graduate Program in Architecture; Brian Wishne, dean  of the School of Building Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design; and Tony Rizzuto, associate professor of architect at Southern Polytechnic State University.

The following evening, January 20th, Harmon will present a lecture entitled “Grits, Glass and Steel: The Evolution of Modern Architecture in the South.”

Harmon, an award-winning architect recognized nationally as a leader in modern, innovative, sustainable design, has spent decades studying vernacular buildings – what he calls “buildings with a conscience” — and lecturing on the lessons he has learned from them across the nation.

“Buildings with a conscience have existed in Southern farmhouses and barns for as long as farmers have erected them,” Harmon says. “These are simple structures built of wholesome, vernacular materials, perched on stone piers so rainwater flows under them. They nestle lightly into the hillsides without disturbing the land. They are rooted in their region and embody the principles of livability. And they speak of the Southern culture as eloquently as bluegrass music or clay pots.”

His lecture will examine the elements and themes that inform contemporary Southern architecture — landscape; materials and construction (the “sticks and stones” of a place); weather and climate; roof forms that shelter or collect; and clients — and illustrate the importance of ‘place’ in the process of creating innovative, sustainable, and appropriate contemporary design.

Harmon, who also serves as Professor in Practice for North Carolina State University’s College of Design, notes frequently that these vernacular structures were always “green,” or sustainable, because they had to be.

“Farmers had an instinct for understanding their land,” he said during a radio interview on “The Story” with Dick Gordon. “They never built on the best part of their land; they saved that for their crops, because that was their sustenance. They typically built on a low-rise for good drainage. They knew exactly where the breezes came from to cool their houses and their barns… They knew how to plant trees to shade their houses in the summer… All of these things the farmers did quite naturally. But it was also for survival.”

The AIA Winter Symposium will be held in Georgia Tech’s Reinsch-Pierce Family Auditorium. For more information contact Brian Buckner at 404-688-4990, ext. 27.

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

About Frank Harmon Architect PA:

Frank Harmon Architect PA is an award-winning architectural firm based in Raleigh, NC, that was ranked 26th among the top 50 firms in the nation in Architect Magazine’s “Architect 50” ranking for 2009.  Frank Harmon, FAIA, founder and principal, is a frequent design awards jurist and a sought-after speaker on the subject of sustainable and regionally appropriate architecture across the nation. His work has been featured in numerous professional and shelter magazines and in international books on architecture. In 2008, a vacation home he designed in the Bahamas was included in a Wall Street Journal list of “the most influential and inspiring houses built during the past decade.” His firm has received more North Carolina design awards than any other firm in the state and recently won three national accolades: two Custom Homes Magazine’s 2009 Design Awards for residences in Raleigh, NC, and Charleston, SC; and an American Institute of Architect’s 2009 Housing Award for the Charleston home.