modern architect

Chapel Hill Architect Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, Receives Two “Best of Houzz” Awards This Year

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Chapel Hill-based architect and Blueplate PR client Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, recently learned that she has received two Best of Houzz Awards for 2021 — one for Design, the other for Client Service — adding to the four Best of Houzz Awards she’s received since 2016.

Houzz is a leading platform for home design and remodeling. Over 40 million unique monthly users comprise the Houzz community. The awards recognize just three percent of the 2.5 million active home professionals represented on the website.

Houzz presents its annual awards in three categories: Design, Customer Service, and Photography. The Design Awards honor professionals whose portfolios are the most popular among the Houzz community. (Follow this link to view Arielle’s Houzz portfolio.)

Customer Service honors are based on several factors, including a professional’s overall rating on Houzz and client reviews submitted in the previous year. Since she joined the platform in 2016, Arielle has maintained a “5 out of 5” rating for “Work Quality,” “Communication,” and “Value,” and she continues to accrue glowing reviews from her clients.

“I’m honored to receive both awards this year,” she said. “And I’m so grateful to all of my wonderful clients who took the time to write those kind reviews. No matter what they wrote, the pleasure was truly mine.”

To learn more about the architect and her work, visit her firm’s website: www.acsarchitect.com.

About Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, is a licensed, registered architect based in Chapel Hill, NC, who specializes in Modernist, energy-efficient buildings with a focus on passive houses, net zero houses, and her new tiny house designs, Micropolis Houses™. She is a lifelong environmentalist and animal advocate who was practicing sustainable design long before it became mainstream. She lives in Chapel Hill with her husband, Arnie, and an assortment of foster animals in a modern house she designed. For more information: www.acsarchitect.com

Frank Harmon Wins Two Custom Home Design Awards

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February 9, 2009, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – Two houses designed by Frank Harmon Architect PA of Raleigh, NC, have received 2009 Custom Home Design Awards in the “less than 3000 square feet” category. The awards are presented by Custom Home Magazine.

The 1800-square-foot Strickland-Ferris house in Raleigh received the coveted Grand Award. 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 house is entered at a balcony. The master bedroom suite is located on this level. From the balcony, an open staircase descends past the glass (in essence, through the trees) to the two-story-clear main living floor. Deep roof overhangs extend a visual link to the natural environment, which is visible throughout the house. Laminated wood columns and beams, plainly bracketed, impart warmth to the sleek, modern interior.

This is the third design award the Strickland-Ferris house has received.

A 2500-square-foot house Harmon designed in Charleston, South Carolina, won a Custom Home Merit Award. The house is based on a long, one-room-deep floor plan that gives each room windows and porches overlooking Shem Creek. Bedrooms are located on opposite ends of the central, loft-like living/dining/kitchen area, beneath a single shed roof. Carports are dramatically cantilevered.

To capitalize on the view, a large glass wall fronts the southwest side of the house. To protect that wall from harsh sun and hurricane debris, Harmon designed a series of hand-fabricated metal screens hinged above the porch. In their horizontal open position, they shade the house. Closed, they create a shaded porch that allows cooling breezes into the house and protects the glass from flying debris. An abundance of operable windows provide natural ventilation and lighting.

This Charleston house also has received three other design awards.

The 15th annual Custom Home Design Awards received 513 entries in nine categories. Just 24 projects were singled out for accolades. Houses entered had to have been designed for a specific client and site. For more information visit www.customhomeonline.com.

For more information on Frank Harmon’s winning houses and other projects, visit www.frankharmon.com.

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