NCSU

L.A. Transplant Joins NCSU College of Design

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pod_Doug at desjDoug Pierson, AIA, to teach third-year architecture design studio.

Architect Douglas Pierson, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, principal and co-founder of the award-winning firm pod architecture + design in Carrboro, NC, will begin teaching a third-year design studio this month for the Department of Architecture, North Carolina State University, College of Design. He will be joined by fellow third-year instructors Matthew Griffith of In Situ and Don Kranbuehl of Clark Nexen.

 Originally from Washington, DC, Pierson attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and the Lettres program at the Université Paul Valéry in Montpelier, France, before earning his Masters in Architecture degree at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

Pierson spent the early years of his career with architecture firms in Europe and Australia before joining Hodgetts and Fung Design Associates in Culver City, CA. His next move was to Frank Gehry’s Los Angeles office Gehry Partners LLP before he and his partner/wife, Youn Choi, launched pod a+d in LA. Choi is an accomplished environmental graphics designer.

In 2016, the couple moved their family and firm to Carrboro, where they pursue modern, progressive academic, commercial, civic, cultural, and residential projects. Among their completed projects are such award-winning, nationally acclaimed buildings as Connie & Ted’s restaurant in West Hollywood, CA, and The Green Building, the first LEED Platinum building in downtown Louisville, KY. Their work has been featured in numerous newspaper, journals, and magazines.

The third-year design studio introduces Doug Pierson to the faculty and students at the NCSU College of Design.

 For more information on Pierson and pod a+d, visit www.podand.com.

About pod architecture + design:

pod a+d offers all architectural design services that connect building, environment, and identity because we believe in the integration of architecture and design disciplines throughout our projects.  Exteriors, interiors, engineering, furnishings and finishes, equipment, financial feasibility, scheduling, construction, and the environmental context – these are the contributing elements that inform our integrated approach to each architectural project’s design.  More information: www.podand.com.

NCSU Landscape Architecture Lecture Series To Feature Frank Harmon, FAIA

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Award-winning architect will discuss how the two professions can,

Frank Harmon, FAIA

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 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, ArchDaily.com, and Residential Architect. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com.

 

Triangle Modernist Houses’ Founder Addresses NCSU Class

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George Smart will present talk, house tour for College of Design  Students

July 4, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – George Smart, founder and director of the award-winning non-profit organization Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), will be a guest lecturer for a summer class in the NC State University College of Design on July 5th.

On July 6th, Smart will take the same class on a tour of Modernist houses in Raleigh from 4-8 p.m.

Architect and Professor in Practice Frank Harmon, FAIA, is teaching the class, along with School of Architecture Professor Margret Kentgens-Craig, PhD.  Harmon and Kentgens-Craig invited Smart to give his signature presentation, “Mayberry Modernism,” to their class and to conduct the tour of Modernist homes in the Raleigh area.

“No one has done more to promote and celebrate modernism in North Carolina than George Smart,” said Frank Harmon. “He is a treasure.”

Launched in 2007, Triangle Modernist Houses is dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting modernist residential design. Through Smart’s direction and research, TMH’s website is now the largest single archive of modernist residential design in the nation. TMH also conducts a host of activities around modernist houses including single- and multi-home tours throughout the year.

“NCSU’s College of Design has been a partner in building the TMH archives since day one,” Smart said, “so I’m honored to give back by speaking and helping to arrange a house tour for the students.”

Among other accolades, Smart recently received a 2011 Preservation Durham Advocacy Award Advocacy Award.

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

NCSU’s Gregg Museum, AIA Asheville To Host “Mayberry Modernism

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The iconic Catalano House, razed in 2001.

 

October 10, 2010 (DURHAM, 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” in Raleigh and Asheville during October.

First, on October 21, North Carolina State University’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design in Raleigh hosts “Mayberry Modernism” at 6 p.m. in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibit “Southern Roots of Mid-century Modern.” The Gregg Museum operates under the Division of Student Affairs and is located in the Talley Student Center in the middle of the NCSU campus.

Next, on October 27, Smart presents “Mayberry Modernism” to the Asheville section of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Asheville). The luncheon begins at 12 noon in Tuton Hall at Trinity Episcopal Church, 60 Church Street, Downtown Asheville. The talk is open to the public but space is limited. The cost is $15 for AIA members and $20 for non-members. (To reserve a space at the luncheon, email: rsvp@aiaasheville.org.)

 

Cassihaus in Orange County.

 

“Mayberry Modernism” showcases the state’s surprising collection of Modernist residences from the 1950s through today, many in great shape but some endangered or even destroyed. In 2007, Smart discovered many of the states “livable works of art” are endangered or have already been destroyed.  Since startup in 2007, TMH has become the largest archive of Modernist residential architecture in the nation.

“Most people, even architects, are surprised by the number of Modernist houses in the state,” Smart said. “This presentation, developed over the last 12 months, discusses the history of Modernist houses in North Carolina and showcases multiple photographs of these terrific houses — from both the past and the present.”

Smart is a passionate advocate for Modernist architecture who continues to facilitate the public’s discovery the state’s architectural legacy through TMH’s extensive website at http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com, house tours, trips, and other events. TMH also actively works to preserve Modernist houses by maintaining free, exclusive For Sale listing on the nonprofit’s website.

For more information on “Mayberry Modernism: North Carolina’s Modernist Legacy,” go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/presentations.htm.

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.

About the Gregg Museum of Art & Design:

The Gregg’s collecting focus reflects the mission of North Carolina State University and supports its academic programs by providing research opportunities for NCSU students and the citizens of North Carolina and beyond. The collection includes, but is not limited to, textiles, ceramics, outsider/folk art, photography, architectural drawings & modern furniture. The Gregg Museum of Art & Design also puts on 6-8 exhibitions per year in its two galleries, in addition to exhibiting work at various places in the Talley Student Center and around campus. For more information visit www.ncsu.edu/gregg.

About AIA Asheville:

AIA Asheville, one of 300 local and state components of The American Institute of Architects, unites the community of design professionals who live and work in the Western North Carolina region.  For more information visit www.aiaasheville.org.