Triangle Modernist Houses

TMH Announces The 2013 George Matsumoto Prize For Modernist Houses

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This unique architecture competition celebrates Modernist residential design

Last year’s Prize winner: the Banbury house designed by John Reese, AIA. Photo by Mark Herboth.

throughout North Carolina.

May 20, 2013 (Durham, NC) – George Smart, Executive Director of Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), has announced the 2013 George Matsumoto Prize to recognize excellence in recent single-family Modernist residential design in North Carolina. Submissions are being accepted starting today.

Now in its second year, the Prize is named for George Matsumoto, FAIA, a founding member of the NC State University School of Design faculty who is well known for the mid-century Modernist houses he designed in North Carolina.

The Matsumoto Prize is a unique design awards program. Unlike other programs, the Prize offers monetary rewards ($6000 total), online public voting along with a blue-ribbon professional jury, and this program focuses on the houses submitted rather than those who designed them: The houses, built since January 1, 2007, must be in North Carolina but the designers can be from anywhere and they do not have to be licensed architects or members of the American Institute of Architects. (In North Carolina, you do not have to be a licensed architect to design a private residence.)

The Matsumoto Prize is also transparent. All information submitted, including the designer’s name, will be published online and available to the jurors and the public. The public vote counts for one-sixth of the jury decision for the final award winners. The houses with the highest number of public votes will also receive special “People’s Choice” recognition. Public voting will begin on www.trianglemodernisthouses.com in early July and end July 20^th.

Again this year, George Matsumoto will serve as the jury’s Honorary Chair. Also returning to the jury are: Frank Harmon, FAIA, (Chair) of Frank Harmon Architect PA, Raleigh; Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, of Marlon Blackwell Architect, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Tom Kundig, FAIA, of Olson Kundig Architects, Seattle, Washington; and Larry Scarpa, FAIA, of Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Los Angeles, California.

Triangle Modernist Houses is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. According to George Smart, the objectives for 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.”

“We hope these entries demonstrate to the public that Modernist design is affordable, efficient, sustainable, and most importantly, a house a family will love decades,” he added. “We also want potential homeowners to realize that, by using an architect or designer, they can have a great home for the same budget as an ordinary house.”

Competition rules, submission procedures, and deadlines are available online at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/prize2013. To see last year’s submissions and winners: http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/prize.htm.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 and dedicated to restoring and growing modernist residential 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, 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. For more information:

Website: www.trianglemodernisthouses.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Triangle-Modernist-Houses97954432790

Twitter: https://twiiter.com/georgesmartTMH/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/triangle-modernist-houses-inc.

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/b1uep1ate/triangle-modernist-houses/

Triangle Modernist Houses Founder Receives AIA Triangle Award

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George Smart is recognized for his many contributions on behalf of modernist architecture

George Smart

and architects.

April 29, 2013 (Raleigh, NC) — George Smart, founder and Executive Director of Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), the non-profit organization that archives, preserves, and promotes Modernist residential architecture in North Carolina, has received the 2013 Isosceles Award from the American Institute of Architects Triangle Section (AIAT).

“This award is a recognition of a love affair with modern residential architecture,” said Michael Harwood, AIA, University Architect for NC State University, during the awards presentation. “George Smart has done so much to support, preserve, encourage, and celebrate modern architecture. Triangle Modernist Houses is a treasure trove of information about modern residential architecture and continues to look for new ways to expand that celebration.”

The purpose of the Isosceles Award is “to recognize individuals, institutions, associations, or companies outside the profession of architecture who, in collaboration with AIA Triangle members, have made significant contributions to the improvement of the built environment,” according to the AIAT website.

Smart’s contributions began six years ago when he started the website www.trianglemodernisthouses. His initial goal was to document the surprising number of existing Modernist houses in the Triangle area. Since then, the archive has expanded to cover the entire state, as well as national and international Modernist masters’ bodies of work. Today, the archive is the largest open digital archive for residential Modern in the United States.

Smart’s mission has become known by the many events he organizes that bring Modernist residential design and the public together. Among those events are popular single- and multi-homes tours, an architecture movie series, summer-long networking events for anyone interested in and working in modern design, and the Matsumoto Prize, an annual design awards program named for Modernist master George Matsumoto, FAIA.

Smart created the Prize to “encourage the public to appreciate architecture as an art form, and [to encourage] young architects to continue the Modernist movement in houses so important to North Carolina and the arts,” as stated on the TMH website.

“Thanks to the thousands of tour participants and hundreds of volunteers, TMH has grown into a thriving community that continues documenting, preserving, and promoting the state’s Modernist houses,” Smart said after receiving the Isosceles Award. “It is my privilege to honor the families who cherished, and the architects who designed, the houses our lively community loves. I accept this honor from AIA Triangle on behalf of everyone involved at TMH and look forward to continued collaboration with AIA Triangle.”

Architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, and over a dozen other well-known architects in the Triangle region, nominated Smart for the award, which was presented during AIAT’s April 18 awards dinner at the new James B. Hunt Jr. Library at NC State University.

For more information on AIA Triangle, go to www.aiatriangle.org.

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

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2009 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. For more information:

Website: www.trianglemodernisthouses.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Triangle-Modernist-Houses/97954432790

Twitter: https://twitter.com/georgesmarttmh

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TMHVideos

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/345598?trk=tyah

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ncmodernist/

Triangle Modernist Houses Sponsors Public Tour of The Largest Mid-century Modern House in Raleigh

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January 28, 2013 (Raleigh, NC) — The 1960 Owen and Dorothy Smith home in Raleigh’s Country Club Hills is not only the largest mid-century modernist house in Raleigh at 5000 square feet, it’s also a now-historic cache of design concepts that changed the way average Americans felt about home, space, and family life.

For the first time since it was built, the Owen Smith house at 122 Perquimans Drive will be open for public touring on Saturday, February 2, from 9 a.m. until noon, sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH).

The stone, wood, and glass home was designed by its owner, architect Owen Smith (1917-2012), who transformed the basement space into sun-lit offices for his architectural practice, including a staff of six people.

Like other exemplary mid-century modernist houses, the Smith house features an open floor plan with living and dining rooms occupying separate areas of one central volume. Open floor plans, combined with modest bedrooms meant solely for sleeping, were intended to inspired families to spend more time together in the central living space.

Mid-century moderns also brought exterior materials into the interior. In this case, the slate flooring on the extended front porch reappears in the wide foyer. The same stone on exterior walls forms a dramatic living room wall that encases the fireplace. Stone walls also appear in the bedrooms.

In the 1950s, the idea of indoor-outdoor living was a new, revolutionary passion. To this end, the Smith house features an abundance of glass, including floor-to-ceiling glass at the main entrance, a steady row of windows that surround the kitchen, and an entire glass wall in the living room that opens onto an equally large screened-in back porch. A courtyard paved in river rock and walled in stone is in constant view from the living space’s lofty windows.
Beautifully landscaped and maintained, the house will go on the market later this year.

Tickets to the Owen Smith House Tour $10 per person at the door. For details and directions, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/smithhouse.

Proceeds from the tour benefit Triangle Modernist Houses’ ongoing mission to document, preserve and promote modernist residential design. For more information on TMH, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

The TMH/Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series Presents “Fallingwater”

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The screening will take place in the series’ new location at the Raleigh Grande.

November 14, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses’ Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series will continue on Thursday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m. with a special screening of the 2011 documentary “Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterwork with Reflections of Edgar Kaufmann Jr. “ at the Raleigh Grande in Raleigh.

Created by filmmaker Kenneth Love, the documentary celebrates the internationally renowned house that architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Edgar Kaufman Sr. in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania. The house is built partly over a waterfall in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains, hence its name.

Shortly after its completion, Time magazine declared Fallingwater Wright’s “most beautiful job.” It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. In 1991, members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) named the house the “best all-time work of American architecture.” In 2007, Fallingwater was ranked 29th on the list of America’s Favorite Architecture, according to the AIA. And it is listed on the Smithsonian Institution’s Life List of 28 places “to visit before you die.”

The film features rare home movies, as well as an extensive interview with Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. discussing why his family built the house and the events that led to Wright’s commission. His personal observations and anecdotes provide insight as he describes the special features of the house.

Sponsored by VMZINC, this special screening will be the first at the TMH/Nowell’s Movie Series new location. The Galaxy Cinema in Cary, home of the series for the past three years, closed recently, so TMH director George Smart secured theater space at the Raleigh Grande , which is located at 4840 Grove Barton Road, Raleigh NC 27613, just off Lynn Road and Glenwood Avenue/Highway 70 West (919-226-2012).

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 next film in the series will be “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” on January 10, followed by “Eames: The Architect and The Painter” on February 7, both at the Raleigh Grande.

Sponsors for the entire movie series include Modern Home Auctions, GoRealty, The Kitchen Specialist, Carrington Electric, VMZINC, Lee Hansley Gallery, in situ studio, Maplewood Building, and Blueplate PR.

For advance tickets and to view a trailer of “Fallingwater,” go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

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.

Architect Dion Neutra To Bring His Famous Father’s Work To Raleigh

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Dion Neutra, AIA

Triangle Modernist Houses continues the 2012 TalkModern Lecture Series.

October 30, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – In 1949, Time magazine named modern master Richard Neutra (1892-1970) the second most important architect in America, second only to Frank Lloyd Wright. On Tuesday, November 13, at 7 p.m., the master’s son, architect Dion Neutra, AIA, will discuss his father’s celebrated work and philosophy when he presents “Neutra Architecture: The View From Inside” at the AIA North Carolina Center for Architecture and Design in downtown Raleigh.

Dion’s lecture is the second half of Triangle Modernist Houses’ 2012 TalkModern Lecture Series this fall entitled “A Fistful of Neutras.” His brother Raymond spoke in October.

A partner in his father’s firm, Dion will share his personal and professional views of the sensitivity to the relationship of man and nature that he and his father called bio-realism.

“The Neutras sounded the environmental alarm in the 1950s many years before ecology, Green architecture, and Sustainable Design became buzz words for politicians and recently concerned organizations,” according to the Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design. “As far back as [Dion] can remember, his father was warning that ‘today’s man-made environment has become an irritating, increasing threat to the vitality and soundness of mind and body.’ ”

Charlotte landscape architect Ted Cleary will introduce Dion Neutra before his Raleigh lecture.

Advance tickets to the lectures are $12.50. Tickets per lecture at the door are $15. $5 for NCSU students and faculty with identification will be admitted for $5.

To purchase advance tickets and for more information, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lecture. Proceeds from this lecture will benefit TMH’s ongoing programs.

The AIANC Center for Architecture & Design is located at 14 East Peace Street, Raleigh, NC 27604. For directions: www.cfadnc.org.

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

Richard Neutra

About Richard Neutra: In 1929, Viennese-born architect Richard Neutra rose to prominence with his visionary design of the Lovell “Health House” in Los Angeles. In 1932, Neutra was included in the seminal MoMA exhibition on modern architecture, curated by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock. The ensuing decades solidified his place as one of the giants of the Modernist movement. TMH features a nearly complete catalog of his residential works.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 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, 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.

Architecture Movie Series Presents “Modern Tide”

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The TMH/Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series continues with midcentury architecture on Long Island.

October 22, 2012 (Cary, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses’ Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series continues on Thursday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. with a special screening of “Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island.”

“Modern Tide” is a new independent documentary that explores the work of the region’s best post-war architects and designers, including Albert Frey, Wallace Harrison, Frank Lloyd Wright, Horace Gifford, Edward Durell Stone, Marcel Breuer, Andrew Geller, Philip Johnson, Charles Gwathmey, Barbara and Julian Neski, and others.

The film features interviews with architects and historians, as well as friends, families and clients of these influential designers. Both rare archival material and current-day cinematography highlight Long Island’s Modernist architectural treasures.

In an article about the film, ArchDaily.com writes: “After WWII, the East End of Long Island played host to a variety of architectural styles. From modernism, through post-modernism, and deconstructionism, architects experimented with social ideas and aesthetic expressions, which culminated in ‘small’ houses scattered about the Island’s natural backdrop. Now, with the advent of the mega-mansion and the desire for ‘bigger,’ it is becoming increasingly difficult to preserve such iconic and progressive architectural projects.”

Yet 20th century modern residential architecture by top architects and designers is being systematically deleted from Long Island’s cultural landscape. “This rich asset is disappearing,” says director Jake Gorst. “We believe the film will foster renewed awareness and appreciation for Long Island’s remaining modernist structures and its unique architectural history.”

In situ studio is sponsoring this special screening. Modern Home Auction, Go Realty, The Kitchen Specialist, and Carrington Electric LLC, and VMZinc, as well as Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, are sponsoring the entire series.

Admission is $9 per person per film, available at the door each night. TMH Mod Squad members are admitted free. Proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion programs.

To see the entire series line-up, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies. Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard (www.mygalaxycinema.com; 919-463-9959).

For view of trailer of “Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island,” go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

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 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.

“Thirst4Architecture” Happy Hour Series To Conclude In Durham

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Triangle Modernist Houses’ last design networking event of 2012

October 3, 2012 (Durham, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses will conclude its “Thirst4Architecture” (T4A) series of design-oriented happy hour networking events this year on Thursday, October 25, from 6-8 p.m. at Triangle Brick’s new headquarters in Durham, NC. The event is free and open to the public.

Triangle Modernist Houses is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. Its T4A happy hours provide a chance for people with a passion for Modernist architecture to connect with each other in an informal setting.

Triangle Brick’s T4A happy hour will include free refreshments and a special brick-carving event, during which participants can create their own personal brick carving/sculpture.

Triangle Brick Headquarters in Durham

Attendees will also be able to tour Triangle Brick’s new 14,000-square-foot headquarters designed by Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee of Raleigh and Asheville. The building showcases brick masonry in a range of applications and includes corporate offices, a product design center, and a uniquely landscaped Brick Garden where spinning brick panels display a range of products in natural daylight.

Owned by parent company Röben Tonbaustoffe of Germany, Triangle Brick is located at 6523 NC 55 Durham NC 27713 (919-544-1796). For more information, go to www.trianglebrick.com.

“Thirst4Architecture” networking events will begin again in March of 2013. For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit organization established in 2007 and dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential architecture. The award-winning website is now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America. TMH also hosts popular Modernist house tours several times a year, along with other events to 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.

Raymond Neutra To Open The 2012 TalkModern Lecture Series

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Sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses

Raymond Neutra

September 19, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Raymond Neutra, the son of Modernist master architect Richard Neutra, will open Triangle Modernist Houses’ 2012 TalkModern Lecture Series on Thursday, October 4, from 7 to 8 p.m., in the AIANC Center for Architecture & Design in downtown Raleigh.

Raymond Neutra will discuss “Preserving the VDL Studio/Residences in Los Angeles,” the research site in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles that was built in three waves: the first two by Richard Neutra in 1932 and 1940, the third by Raymond and his brother, Dion, in 1966 following a fire in the 1932 wing. Hundreds of projects were designed there, launching the careers of many renowned architects. The site became a cultural and political salon, attracting some of the world’s most prominent thinkers, yet it is in danger of significant decay now.

Over the last 35 years, Raymond, Neutra’s youngest son, travelled the world to connect with his father’s buildings, their owners, and occupants. An epidemiologist, Raymond offers a unique perspective from a son growing up with a famous architect father. He is also a devoted preserver of Modernism all over the world.

Raymond’s lectures raise awareness and funds for the restoration of the VDL Studio/Residences, an ongoing social and technological experiment that his mother bequeathed to Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design in 1990.

His Raleigh lecture will describe the ongoing efforts to restore the VDL compound, including the philosophical issues encountered during the project. The former Dean of the Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design and current Dean of the NCSU College of Design, Marvin Malecha, will introduce Raymond. Proceeds from this lecture will benefit the VDL Studio preservation effort.

About Richard Neutra: In 1929, Viennese-born architect Richard Neutra rose to prominence with his visionary design of the Lovell “Health House” in Los Angeles. The ensuing decades solidified his place as one of the giants of the Modernist movement. In 1949, Time magazine featured Neutra on its cover and ranked him second only to Frank Lloyd Wright in American architecture. Triangle Modernist Houses’ website features a nearly complete catalog of his residential works (http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/neutra.htm).

Dion Neutra, Raymond’s brother, will speak at the AIANC Center in November.

Advance tickets to the lectures are $12.50 per person per lecture, or $20 for both. Tickets per lecture at the door are $15. To purchase advance tickets and for more information on both lectures, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/lecture.

The AIANC Center for Architecture & Design is located at 14 East Peace Street, Raleigh, NC 27604. For directions: www.cfadnc.org.

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

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

North Carolina’s Finest Mid-Century Modern House in Danger of Demolition

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Praised by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Paschal house needs a buyer to see another 62 years.

August 6, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — One of the most highly praised mid-century Modern houses in North Carolina, the 1950 Paschal house, is threatened with eventual teardown if a buyer doesn’t come forward very soon.

Award-winning Raleigh architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, said recently, “I personally think this is, flat out, the greatest modern house in North Carolina.” According to Harmon, the late Harwell Hamilton Harris, FAIA, shared his sentiment. Even Frank Lloyd Wright observed after visiting the house “it does the cause [of modern architecture] good.”

“We’re putting out a national preservation alert to save this James Fitzgibbon-designed icon,” said George Smart, founder and director of Triangle Modernist Houses, (TMH) an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house has been empty and on the market for five years.

The owners, the three Paschal heirs who are now in their sixties, are asking $3.3 million for the 3300-square-foot house on three acres in Raleigh’s Country Club Hills.

“In these difficult economic times, that’s an unrealistic price,” Smart said.

Experts, such as Frank Harmon, believe the house is far from “too far gone” as some have suggested.

“The house could certainly be restored and heat and air conditioning installed while honoring Fitzgibbon’s design,” Harmon said. (The radiant heat in the floors hasn’t worked for years, and the house doesn’t have air conditioning; its sustainable design made cooling optional.) “I’ve been through the house on many occasions and it can definitely be saved.”

According to Preservation NC’s Executive Director, Myrick Howard, the 62-year-old house is eligible for historic preservation tax credits if it is restored.

Marvin Malecha, FAIA, Dean of N.C. State University’s College of Design and a former president of the American Institute of Architects, told the News & Observer that the Paschal House “is still considered an iconic piece of architecture.”

A real danger exists, however, that the house will deteriorate past the point of no return and require demolition, following the fate of the 1954 Eduardo Catalano House, similarly vacant and eventually demolished despite praise by Frank Lloyd Wright and being named the “House of the Decade” by House and Home Magazine.

House and Architect: Ahead of Their Time

Comprised of granite, wood, and glass, the one-story Paschal house features a sweeping flat roof, extensive floor-to-ceiling windows, a floor-to-ceiling fireplace and sunken hearth, built-in bookcases and storage, intimate atria at each end, and Wrightian-inspired gates.

The house embraced sustainability 40 years ahead of the times. Despite its lack of air conditioning, it was reportedly cool in the summer. The windows provide an abundance of natural light and ventilation, deep roof overhangs shade the windows from the hot summer, and cork flooring is a sustainable building material.

The architect, James Fitzgibbon (1915-1985), moved to Raleigh with other members of the first faculty of the NC State University School of Design, hand-picked by the founding dean, Henry Kamphoefner. Fitzgibbon enjoyed a long partnership with R. Buckminster Fuller and his work was once featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, placed between that of Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn.

For more information on the Paschal House, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/fitzgibbon.htm and see Preservation NC’s listing at www.presnc.org (click on “Buy Property” then “Historic Properties for sale”).

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.

Frank Harmon To Chair Matsumoto Prize Jury

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Raleigh architect puts together blue-ribbon jury for unique

Frank Harmon, FAIA

design competition.

July 13, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, will serve as chairman of the inaugural George Matsumoto Prize, a unique architecture competition celebrating modernist house built in North Carolina since 2006.

The Matsumoto Prize, named to honor modernist architect George Matsumoto, FAIA, is the brainchild of George Smart, founder and director of Triangle Modernist Houses, the non-profit organization that archives, preserves, and promotes modernist residential design. The single-family houses submitted must be in North Carolina but their designers can be from anywhere. The winners will be awarded cash prizes totally $6000. Submissions closed on July 1.

To put together a jury of professional architects, Smart turned to Frank Harmon, a veteran chair of design award juries across the nation.

George Matsumoto, now retired and living in Oakland, California, will serve as honorary chair when the jury convenes on July 18. The other professionals who comprise Harmon’s blue-ribbon jury are:

Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, Marlon Blackwell Architect, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Larry Scarpa, FAIA, Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Los Angeles, California
David Jameson, FAIA, David Jameson Architect, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Tom Kundig, FAIA, Olson Kundig Architects, Seattle, Washington

“Frank has convened a world-class jury of architects all internationally known for their residential work,” George Smart said. “We’re very fortunate to have such an excellent group to kick off the first Matsumoto Prize.”

The general public is serving as the seventh juror – one of the many unique aspects of this design competition. The 19 houses entered are online at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/vote. Anyone in the world can cast a vote for his or her favorite house until 5 p.m. on July 22.

A modernist architect himself, Harmon’s residential designs have won multiple design awards and been featured in numerous journals and books, as well as the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. His residential work has received National Housing Awards from the American Institute of Architects and Custom Home Awards from Custom Home magazine. For more information, visit www.frankharmon.com.

For more information on the Matsumoto Prize, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/prize.htm.

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.

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