pod architecture + design’s “Hillside House” gets national press.
Abundant glazing provides views of the wooded site from every room. (Photo by Allen Weiss)
by Christopher Brinkerhoff, Associate Editor
Zig zagging down a hillside in Carrboro, N.C., a black-clad house blends into a wooded site. The home is the vision of partners and design duo Douglas Pierson and Youn Choi, pod architecture + design PLLC, Chapel Hill, N.C.
The house comprises three forms that are connected. At their simplest, they are rectangles that connect to form a Z pattern, descending the slope of the hill toward a creek.
Corrugated metal panels give texture to the lengthy façades that are punctured by horizontal windows, which emphasize their length. To keep the lines clean, the architects specified limited trim.
Two Appearances
The home blends in with other houses in the neighborhood in terms of size and scale, but because of the slope, the two lower forms disappear from the street view. The buildable area on the hillside site was limited to a triangular, northeast corner of the site. Instead of facing the streetside to the east, the house faces the creek bed to the southwest. READ MORE
Late architect Jon Condoret’s favorite project will be open to the public for the first time.
March 20, 2013 (Durham, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), the award-winning non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential architecture, will host a tour of the unusual 1973 Arthur and Florence Larson Residence in Durham on Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
Originally designed by the late Chapel Hill architect Jon Condoret, the Larson home began at 4825 square feet. When the Larsons sold the house, the new owners engaged California architect Fu-Tung Chung to design the renovation, which was built by Landmark Renovation with the late landscape architect, Judy Harmon, designing an entrance path and garden. A further 2011 addition expanded the house to 6040 square feet.
“Jon Condoret considered the Larson house his favorite project,” said George Smart, TMH Executive Director. “It’s easy to see why. The expansive walls and ceilings, combined with exposed beams, echo the angular exterior. The house is filled with natural light and views of the wooded surroundings. We are very grateful to the current owners for opening it on April 13 to the public.”
According to the Durham Herald-Sun’s 1993 obituary, Arthur Larson joined the Duke faculty in 1958 and became only the second James R. Duke professor of law after having served as Undersecretary of Labor, Director of the U.S. Information Agency, and as special assistant in charge of speeches for President Dwight E. Eisenhower. He also served as consultant on international affairs to President Lyndon B. Johnson, the U.S. State Department, and the United Nations. While the Larsons lived in their Modernist home, they frequently entertained friends and fellow Duke Faculty, often holding classical music concerts in the large two-story-clear living room.
Tickets to the tour are $6.50 in advance or $10 at the door. (Advance sales close a week before the tour.) Admission is on a timed-entry basis every 30 minutes. Photography is allowed anywhere inside and outside the house. Architects can earn continuing education credits for attending the tour if arrangements are made with the American Institute of Architects in advance.
To order tickets, select an entry time, get directions to the house, and for additional information, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/tour. Proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing mission. Call George Smart with any questions: 919-740-8407.
About Triangle Modernist Houses:
Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 and dedicated to documenting, 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 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:
A look at the life and legacy of a great American architect.
March 6, 2012 (Cary, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) will conclude the 2011-2012 Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series with “Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect” on Thursday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Galaxy Cinema in Cary.
One of the best-known and most influential American architects of the 20th century, Philip Johnson, FAIA (1906-2005) founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1930. It was there that he and friends Alfred H. Barr, Jr. and Henry-Russell Hitchcock assembled the landmark exhibition “The International Style: Architecture Since 1922″ in 1932. The show introduced the American public to the modern architecture that Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and others were designing in Europe.
A few of Johnson’s most famous projects include Minneapolis’s IDS Tower, the Crystal Cathedral megachurch in Southern California, the AT&T Building in Manhattan, and his own Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he died in his sleep in 2005. (The Glass House is now open to the public.)
Directed by Barbara Wolf, the film “depicts Johnson at work, the importance of the architectural act, and the buildings’ interaction with their environment,” according to Design Intelligence (di.net/videos).
Tickets to the film are $9. The Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard, Cary, NC 27511 (919-463-9989).
Hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses, the annual Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series features hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture. Films are shown one Thursday of each month from October through March. All proceeds from ticket sales support Triangle Modernist Houses’ mission of documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design from the 1950s to today. For more information on the award-winning non-profit organization, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.
About Triangle Modernist Houses:
Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to preserve and promote Modernist architecture. 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.
Featuring four unique Modernist houses in Durham’s Hope
The Patel House is one of four modernist homes on the spring tour.
Valley neighborhood.
February 20, 2012 (Durham, NC) — The 29thTriangle Modernist Houses tour of modern homes will be held Saturday April 14, 1-4 p.m., in the Hope Valley neighborhood of Durham, NC.
The tour will feature four unique homes: one brand new, one four years old, and two mid-century moderns that have been renovated. The houses on the spring tour are:
The Miriam and Henry Nicholson House, designed by architect Robert (Judge) Carr. Renovated and currently for sale.
The 2008 Monica Hunter House, designed by architect Bill Waddell.
The 2011 Patel House, designed and built by architect Sanjeev Patel.
The Chute Residence, a mid-century modern ranch currently under renovation and expansion by architect Ellen Cassilly.
Architects Waddell, Cassilly, and Patel will be at the houses to discuss any details or questions from the public. Photography is allowed and encouraged inside and out.
Tour-goers may park for free at St. Stephen’s Church on Rugby Road. From there they can walk, bike, or take one of two free shuttle buses to the houses. (Please do not drive directly to the houses.)
“We’re super green,” said TMH founder and board chair George Smart. “Think of all the carbon saved by shuttles versus driving hundreds of cars from house-to-house individually.”
Tickets are $14.95 per person in advance for the general public, $11.95 per person in advance for Mod Squad members, and $20 per person on the day of the tour. Children carried or in strollers are admitted free. Tickets are available at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/tour.htm.
Since 2008, no organization in North Carolina has hosted more Modernist house tours than TMH. Support from thousands of homeowners, architects, builders, and members of the community allow TMH to bring the public exclusive access to modernist residential architecture. Proceeds from tour ticket sales benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion projects.
Sponsors for the April 14 tour, who will also be on hand at each house, include: L.E. Meyers Builders, The Kitchen Specialist, Studio B Architecture/BuildSense, Go Realty, Anchorage Building Corporation, Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Byrd Tile Distributors, and Tonic Design/Tonic Construction.
Contact George Smart at 919-740-8407 with questions about the Durham tour.
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.
The first in a series of dinners sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses.
Frank Harmon, FAIA
January 18, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon FAIA, founder and principal of the award-winning firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, will be a featured guest at the first 2012 “Appetite4Architecture” dinner on Tuesday, January 31, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in 18 Seaboard restaurant in Raleigh.
Now in its third year, “Appetite4Architecture” dinners are sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design. The purpose of the dinners is to give the general public a chance to dine with, and talk with, some of the Triangle area’s finest architects in a relaxed, informal setting.
Frank Harmon is well known for modern, innovative, sustainable and regionally appropriate architecture of all types, including houses. Among his best known, award-winning residential designs are:
The Taylor Vacation House in the Bahamas, which is included in the book Tropical Modernism and was featured in an exhibit in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., among many other accolades.
The Strickland-Ferris Residence in Raleigh, which has been featured in a number of architectural magazines and received both Custom Home and Wood Design awards.
The Low Country Residence in Mount Pleasant, SC, which also received a Custom Home Design Award and a national AIA Housing Award.
And the own modern home and gardens he shares with his wife, landscape architect Judy Harmon, in Raleigh, which were featured in Sarah Susanka’s book Outside The Not-So-Big House.
In 2011, Frank Harmon was included in Residential Architect magazine’s “RA 50: A Short List of Architects We Love,” and in 2005 his firm received the magazine’s “Top Firm of the Year” honor. He has been profiled in Dwell magazine and Architectural Record, and he has been a featured guest on American Public Media’s “The Story” with Dick Gordon.
Joining Harmon for TMH’s inaugural 2012 “A4A” dinner will be Durham architect Ellen Cassilly, AIA, who worked in Harmon’s firm before founding her own firm Ellen Cassilly Architect Inc., and Randy Lanou, president of BuildSense/Studio B Architecture, also in Durham. Dona Aguayo of Go Realty is co-sponsoring the January 31 dinner.
The TMH “A4A” dinnersare all held at 18 Seaboard, 18 Seaboard Avenue, No. 100, Raleigh, NC 27604. The dinnersinclude three courses from a preselected menu (vegetarian options are available) plus coffee, water, tea, tax, and gratuity. Price per person is $53. Tickets are available at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/a4a. Payments are nonrefundable except for event cancellation. All proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and house tours programs. For more information on TMH call George Smart, 919-740-8407 or visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.
Frank Harmon, FAIA, is principal Frank Harmon Architect PA, and Professor in Practice at North Carolina State University’s College of Design. His work has been featured in numerous books, journals and magazines, including Dwell, Architect, Architectural Record, Arch Daily.com, and Residential Architect. A frequent lecturer on modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate architecture, he serves on design awards juries across the nation. For more information, visit www.frankharmon.com.
A4A dinners bring architects and the public together in a social atmosphere.
January 9, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) has announced its third “Appetite4Architecture” series of dinners that give the public the chance to enjoy relaxed, informal discussions in an upscale dining environment, where diners have direct access to some of the area’s best residential architects and professionals.
TMH is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design.
“Dreaming of a new Modernist house? Long admired the work of a local architect or designer? Thinking about architecture as a career? Appetite4Architecture offers a chance to break bread with prominent members of the Triangle’s design community in an intimate, affordable small group setting,” said TMH founder and board chair George Smart. “There are no presentations or PowerPoint slides — just great conversations with award-winning cuisine.”
The schedule and special guests for the 2012 A4A dinners:
Again this year, the “A4A” dinners will be held at 18 Seaboard in Raleigh and begin at 6:30 p.m. The dinners include three courses from a preselected menu (vegetarian options are available) plus coffee, water, tea, tax, and gratuity. Price per person is $53. Tickets are available at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/a4a.
TMH requires a minimum of 10 participants per event (maximum 17). Otherwise the event will be cancelled with full refunds. If someone purchases a ticket but then can’t attend, substitutions are allowed. Payments are nonrefundable except for event cancellation. All proceeds benefit TMH’s ongoing documentation, preservation, and house tours programs. For more information call George Smart, 919-740-8407.
Triangle Modernist Houses was established in 2007 to document, preserve, and promote Modernist residential design. The award-winning website is now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America. TMH also hosts Modernist house tours several times a year. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these “livable works of art” for future generations. Visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.
A documentary on the celebrated British architect Norman Foster.
Millau Viaduct by Norman Foster, FAIA
January 3, 2011 (Cary, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses continues the 2011-2012 Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series this month with a special screening of “How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?” a documentary on the life and works of one of the world’s premier architects, Norman Foster, principal of Foster + Partners in London, England. The film will be shown Thursday, January 19, at 7:30 p.m, in Cary’s Galaxy Cinema.
The new film traces Foster’s rise to the top of his profession and his unending quest to improve the quality of life through design. It presents Foster’s origins and how his dreams and influences inspired the design of emblematic projects, such as the largest building in the world, Beijing Airport, the Reichstag, the Hearst Building in New York, and his world-famous bridges, including the Millennium Bridge in London and the breathtaking Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, in Millau, France.
Foster became the 21st Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate in 1999 and was awarded the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture in 2002. He has been awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Architecture (1994), the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture (1983), and the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture (1991). In 1990 he was granted a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, and in 1999 was honored with a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank.
In a review of the documentary, The Guardian in London explained: “The title is taken from a question put to him by his hero, American architect Buckminster Fuller, referring to the Sainsbury Centre next to UEA, a quirky question designed to get him and us thinking about the concept of mass in architecture. By accident or design, this movie makes his buildings look airily light: expressions of pure thought and design.”
Blueplate PR is sponsoring this special screening of “How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?” Sponsors for the entire TMH Architecture Movie Series include Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Dail Dixon FAIA, Studio B Architecture/BuildSense, Modern Home Auction, Cherry Modern, Kontek, and Alphin Design+Build.
Tickets to the film are $9. The Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard, Cary, NC 27511 (919-463-9989).
The Bombay Beijing restaurant near the Galaxy is offering a special deal for movie-goers: Have dinner in the restaurant before the movie and receive one free admission for each $15 spent.
Hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses, the Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series features hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture. Films are shown one Thursday of each month from October through March. For a complete list of upcoming films, to buy advance tickets, and to see a trailer of upcoming films, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.
All proceeds from ticket sales support Triangle Modernist Houses’ mission of documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design from the 1950s to today. For more information on the award-wining organization, 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.
Examining the life, career, and influence of the American architect/artist.
November 30, 2011 (Cary, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses continues the 2011-2012 Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series this month with a special screening of “Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture” on Thursday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m, in Cary’s Galaxy Cinema.
Directed by Mark Richard Smith, the film focuses on the life and career of Louis Sullivan as an artist and what he tried to do for American architecture. Much of the footage is comprised of moving shots that trace building details and ornamentation not readily seen by the casual eye.
“Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture marks the first time that the life and career of Louis Sullivan have been brought to the screen,” the film’s website states. “Aside from several films that presented certain parts of Sullivan’s career such as his skyscrapers and banks, there has never been an in-depth exploration of him as an artist and what he tried so hard to do for American architecture.
The film presents Sullivan as an artist who never felt completely comfortable in the romanticism of the nineteenth-century or the unsentimental, mechanized world of the 20th century. It also looks at how Louis Sullivan exerted a tremendous influence on the development of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Tickets to the film are $9 at the door. Galaxy Cinema is located in the Village Square Shopping Center at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard, Cary, NC 27511. Phone: 919-463-9959.
Hanbury Preservation Consulting in Raleigh is sponsoring this special screening of “Louis Sullivan: The Struggle For American Architecture.” Sponsors for the entire series are Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Kontek, Alphin Design Build, Cherry Modern, Modern Home Auction, Studio B Architecture, and Dail Dixon FAIA.
Hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses, the Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series features exciting and hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture. Films are shown one Thursday of each month from October through March 2012. For a complete list of the upcoming films, to buy advance tickets, and to see a trailer of upcoming film, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.
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. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.
Examining the life, career, and influence of the American architect/artist.
November 30, 2011 (Cary, NC) — Triangle Modernist Houses continues the 2011-2012 Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series this month with a special screening of “Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture” on Thursday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m, in Cary’s Galaxy Cinema.
Directed by Mark Richard Smith, the film focuses on the life and career of Louis Sullivan as an artist and what he tried to do for American architecture. Much of the footage is comprised of moving shots that trace building details and ornamentation not readily seen by the casual eye.
“Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture marks the first time that the life and career of Louis Sullivan have been brought to the screen,” the film’s website states. “Aside from several films that presented certain parts of Sullivan’s career such as his skyscrapers and banks, there has never been an in-depth exploration of him as an artist and what he tried so hard to do for American architecture.
The film presents Sullivan as an artist who never felt completely comfortable in the romanticism of the nineteenth-century or the unsentimental, mechanized world of the 20th century. It also looks at how Louis Sullivan exerted a tremendous influence on the development of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Tickets to the film are $9 at the door. Galaxy Cinema is located in the Village Square Shopping Center at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard, Cary, NC 27511. Phone: 919-463-9959.
Hanbury Preservation Consulting in Raleigh is sponsoring this special screening of “Louis Sullivan: The Struggle For American Architecture.” Sponsors for the entire series are Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Kontek, Alphin Design Build, Cherry Modern, Modern Home Auction, Studio B Architecture, and Dail Dixon FAIA.
Hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses, the Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series features exciting and hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture. Films are shown one Thursday of each month from October through March 2012. For a complete list of the upcoming films, to buy advance tickets, and to see a trailer of upcoming film, go to www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.
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. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.
To assist the non-profit with its ongoing mission.
November 30, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Paul Hobgood, a design associate in the award-winning architectural firm Kenneth E Hobgood Architects in Raleigh, has been selected to serve on Triangle Modernist Houses’ 2012 Advisory Council.
TMH is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to preserve and promote Modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website is now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America.
Selected from a cross-section of the design community, Advisory Council members support and improve TMH’s programming, including popular house tours, architecture movies, trips, presentations, and many other events.
Paul Hobgood graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Design in 2008 with a Masters in Architecture. He was a finalist for the Kamphoefner Honor Fellowship, an annual award that recognizes the College’s outstanding Master of Architecture student. He has worked at Kenneth E. Hobgood Architects since 2004, and has served as a design architect on a number of the firm’s modern, award-winning projects since then.
“I’m excited about serving on the Advisory Council for two reasons,” Hobgood said. “One, it’s an opportunity to further enhance a resource – TMH — that spotlights the Triangle’s rich history as it pertains to modernist homes and architects, since I’ve spent most of my life in and around modernist architecture. Two, I have a genuine sense of pride when it comes to the Triangle. I’m also intrigued by the broad spectrum of interests and specialties that comprise this year’s Advisory Council. It should make for a spirited debate/process.”
The 16-member Advisory Council meets twice a year at the modern Durham home of TMH founder and board chair George Smart.
“The Advisory Council is part focus group, part brain trust,” said Smart. “The members’ experience and insights into design and preservation have helped us create so many popular events over the years that our website is now up to 40,000-plus views a month. I’m looking forward to the innovations that will no doubt come from the 2010 Advisory Council.”
For more information on Paul Hobgood and Kenneth E. Hobgood Architects, visit www.kennethhobgood.com.
About Kenneth E. Hobgood, Architects:
Kenneth Hobgood, FAIA, founded Kenneth E Hobgood, Architects in Raleigh, NC, in 1992. Since then, the firm has received 39 design awards from the American Institute of Architects North Carolina chapter and its work has been published and exhibited in the United States, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, England and Germany. In 1997, Kenneth Hobgood as awarded the Kamphoefner Prize from North Carolina State University’s College of Design for “consistent integrity and devotion to the development of modern architecture” in North Carolina. He has served as a visiting critic at Auburn University, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, and the University of Kentucky, and as an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University since 1988. For more information visit www.kennethhobgood.com.
Client News and Media Recognition 