Event to feature eight houses, one office space in Raleigh from the 1950s to today.
What’s Raleigh, North Carolina's best-kept secret? The Triangle has the third largest concentration of Modernist houses in the country, behind Los Angeles and Chicago -- literally hundreds of exceptional houses -- due to the Modernist influence of the North Carolina State University’ College of Design over the last 61 years.
Eight of those modernist houses, plus one office space, will be open for touring during “TMH Modern 2010,” the Triangle Modernist Houses fall home tour in Raleigh on Saturday, September 25, from 1 – 4:30 p.m.
This tour, TMH’s 14th, will feature modernist houses from mid-century 1950’s to cutting-edge new homes, all of which are defined by sweeping lines, open interiors, abundant glass, and aesthetic geometries.
TMH’s award-winning home tours, organized by TMH founder and director George Smart, are the longest-running, professionally-conducted architectural tours in the region. The past 13 tours have allowed over 2000 people from around the state to tour 21 Modernist houses.
“As with all TMH home tours, we showcase the value of exceptional architecture and construction,” Smart said. “TMH gives the public unique opportunities to go inside some of the coolest houses in Raleigh that they would rarely be able to see otherwise. We’ve lined up some of the best. And photography is not only allowed, it is encouraged.”
The fall tour will feature:
The Milton Small House on Lake Boone Trail, designed by Milton Small, FAIA, and built by Frank Walser.
An extreme modernist renovation on Graham Street in Cameron Village by Laurent P. de Comarmond, AIA.
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 of Alphin Design Build.
The Milton Small Office on Hillsborough Street, designed by Milton Small, FAIA, and built by Frank Walser. Landscape architecture by Lewis Clarke, FASLA.
The Jim Kuehn Residence, located on Fairall Street, designed by Brian Shawcroft, AIA.
The Ron Collier House, on Manning Place, designed by architect/owner Ron Collier, AIA.
The Harwell Hamilton Harris' home and office on Cox Avenue, designed by Harwell Harris, FAIA.
Preservation North Carolina, the nonprofit statewide historic preservation organization dedicated to protecting and promoting buildings, landscapes and sites important to the state’s diverse heritage, is including the TMH 2010 Tour as part its statewide annual conference to be held in Raleigh that weekend.
Smart, well-known for speaking on “Mayberry Modernism” across North Carolina, emphasizes the green, sustainable features of the TMH tour.
“Our free hop-on, hop-off bus system reduces the carbon footprint and assures neighborhoods are not disrupted with hundreds of cars. People don’t have to spend their day finding, driving to, and parking at each home.”
Discounted advance tickets to the 2010 Tour ($24.95) are available through the TMH website -- www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/2010 -- and at Quail Ridge Books in Ridgewood Shopping Center, Raleigh. Day-of tickets will be $29.95. Tickets are picked up at the tour, not mailed.
Sponsors include: Preservation North Carolina, Preservation Greensboro, Historic Charlotte, The Downtowner Magazine, The Independent Weekly, Ambiente International, the NCSU Gregg Museum of Art, the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, Eidolon Designs, Center Studio Architecture, Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Modern Home Network, Beyond Blue Interiors, Tonic Design + Tonic Construction, Center Studio Architecture, the Raleigh chapter of Architecture for Humanity, the City of Raleigh Raleigh Urban Design Center, and the NC Symphony. Companies may still sign on as sponsors by contacting George Smart at 919-740-8407.
Triangle Modernist Houses 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 hosts modernist house tours several times a year. The tours raise awareness and help preserve these "works of art" for future generations.
The TMH website also maintains a list of modernist houses for sale in the Triangle area and features profiles of noted modernist architects both locally and nationally.
For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.