News
Ronald Glasser Speaking Tonight at UUFR
Dr. Ronald Glasser was on The State of Things last week and has been speaking over the past couple of days in various venues in the area. Glasser was a medic in the Vietnam War and has a good amount of stories to tell.
Hue Raleigh Material Mockup
As mentioned last week, Hue Raleigh has set up a sales office on the West end of Martin Street as construction continues on the condo building. To continue the triangulation of Hue’s presence in the West End, they have also been building a material mock-up just west of the train tracks on Hargett Street, just down the hill from Sidetrack Brewpub and Bloomsbury Estates.
Renovation Right: House Addition by Kenneth E Hobgood Architects
Does the house in the above photo look like a good tear-down candidate? Many Raleigh residents might think so, but not homeowners John and Betty Aldridge, who took a more patient and respectful approach to expanding their living situation. More…Click Image for Slideshow
Contemporary Modernist House on Lake Boone Trail
You’ve seen it, being built in the past couple of years along Lake Boone Trail, near the intersection of I440. Designed by…
Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center Pre-Design
Click Image for Slideshow The Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center will combine the City Police and Fire Departments, Emergency Communications and Operations, Traffic Control, Information Technology and Data, Sheriff Dispatch, Building Maintenance and Credit Union Offices all into one building. Details…
Campbell University Selects Architects for Downtown Raleigh Law School
Two architecture firms have been selected to develop Campbell University’s new law school in downtown Raleigh. The project will be a renovation of and addition to the Hillsborough Place office building.
Raleigh Wide Open Three to Open Raleigh Convention Center
Fayetteville Street was reopened to car traffic in late summer of 2006. Downtown Raleigh has not been the same since. This celebration was titled Raleigh Wide Open and estimates say that between 60,000 and 70,000 people attended the street festival. A year later, Raleigh Wide Open Part Two celebrated the year anniversary of the inaugural event. Not much had changed on Fayetteville Street in that first year, but the crowds still came. In September of 2008, almost exactly two years after Fayetteville Street reopened, the city will celebrate the opening of the long awaited Raleigh Convention Center. The title of this celebration? You guessed it, Raleigh Wide Open III and “It’s going to be the biggest party our community has ever had,” Mayor Charles Meeker said.
Stuff Downtown Raleigh Likes: Warehouses
1When looking at the history and current state of downtown Raleigh, there is no doubt that it likes warehouses. It just can’t get enough of them. Downtown Raleigh even has a district called “The Warehouse District.” Then again, don’t most cities have “warehouse districts”? They do IF they haven’t torn all the warehouses down to make room for stucco laced condos or big box retail. Red clay makes up most of the soil in the midlands of North Carolina. Bricks are made of red clay. And what are warehouses made of? Yes, that’s right, brick. Warehouses embody history and we love history. Therefore, deductive logic states that Downtown Raleigh must celebrate its warehouses.
Sarah Susanka at 1880 Hall and on WUNC
The Not So Big House. The Not So Big Life. These are phrases as well as concepts that are logical in preparation for downsizing your life and lowering your carbon footprint. Sarah Susanka has books published with the both as titles and both have become best sellers. She will bring her ideas and thoughts to The Longview Center next Tuesday for a discussion on how to make your life better, not bigger. Also, just in time for her appearance, WUNC’s The State of Things re-aired an interview with Susanka yesterday.
RBC Centura Headquarters, Plaza Condominiums: Mixed-Use Project Reflects Downtown Raleigh Context
Any poetic qualities of the new RBC Plaza come out here, on the Boylan Bridge at twilight: the building’s ability to mirror it’s surroundings is becoming evident as the glass sheathing rises up towards the spire, reflecting the sunset in an otherwise darkening lineup of familiar downtown Raleigh buildings.
Charlie Rose and Thom Mayne Discussion on UNC-TV Tonight
Green was a key word in 2007, and six months ago, NC State had a very informative panel discussion with Charlie Rose, Dean Malecha, Thom Mayne and Dick Jackson on Sustainable Design. For those that didn’t make it to the discussion you have a chance to see it tonight at 10pm on you local PBS station UNC-TV.
Frank Harmon, Raleigh Architects Take Honors in AIA NC Headquarters Sustainable Design Competition
The North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently held a state-wide design competition to choose an architect for a new headquarters building, which will be located in Downtown Raleigh. Local architecture studio, Frank Harmon, Architect, took first place honors and dibs on the contract for the project. Jury shakedown, winner information, and image slideshow Below the Fold….
Spring Design Lecture Series at NCSU
The College of Design at NC State has released their Spring Lecture Series and has three international names and a very well known name from Chicago. All lectures are held in newly renovated and beautiful Burns Auditorium in Kamphoefner Hall at 6 p.m. followed by a reception. AIA members can receive Continuing Education units for attending any of the lectures. The topics seem interesting and there are a couple of names in the bunch that are known to do very great work. Lecture List Below the Fold
AIA NC Design Competition Reception
COMPETITION WINNERS - IMAGE SLIDESHOWS OF RECEPTION AND COMPETITION ENTRIES Architects all over the state have been staying up late nights and collaborating furiously to find the most logical, yet beautiful, solution to AIA North Carolina’s design competition for their new headquarters in downtown Raleigh. The site is small and tricky but I have spoken to a handful of designers who think they have great solutions. Designs are being wrapped up in the next week or two and in three weeks time, a decision will be made on the winner. A reception will be held to showcase all the designs, including the winner, and it is open to the public. Reception Info Below the Fold
Triangle Modernist Houses on WPTF
Triangle Modernist Houses has become a very great web resource for locating modern homes in the triangle and their designers. George Smart has been getting lots of publicity in the past couple of months with the publication of his list which grows almost weekly. Tomorrow (Saturday December 15, 2007) Triangle Modernist Houses with be on WPTF 680am at 9pm. Tune in to the Bob Langford show for one of the Triangle’s few radio broadcasts on Modernism - with George Smart, Jr. and alumnus Vinny Petrarca, owner of Tonic Design and Tonic Construction. It should be a well informed design discussion as Tonic (who recently completed a lovely pavilion at the NC Art Museum) is one of the most progressive housing firms in the Triangle, the state and soon the entire nation.
AIA NC Awards Videos
New Raleigh recently posted about the AIA North Carolina design awards. The videos from the presentation in New Bern have been released and can be viewed below. The Intro video is about as kitschy as a video can be but the projects which won awards were not. More Info and Videos
Jim Hunt Library to be NCSU Centennial Campus Centerpiece, Signature Building
Snohetta, the Norwegian architectural firm that designed the WTC Cultural Center (middle), has been chosen to design the new $114 Million Library to be built on North Carolina State University’s cutting edge technopolis, Centennial Campus. Read more below the fold…
Raleigh Architect in Dwell Magazine
Local architect Frank Harmon, FAIA appears in the new [December/January] issue of Dwell Magazine in the Conversation column. Frank speaks his mind on Regionalism, sustainability in relation to vernacular, and some of his recent work. He lives and works in Raleigh has recently received much attention for his contemporary and sustainable work.I am not interested in vernacular to be sentimental. I am interested in what it can teach us. All vernacular architecture is sustainable. It is always inherently related to its region. But let me emphasize that regionalism should not be confused with parochialism any more than you would call Faulkner a local Southern writer. - Frank Harmon
DOCOMOMO North Carolina Chapter
DOCOMOMO, The International working party for documentation and conservation of building sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement, is a nationwide organization devoted to the preservation of mid-century architecture and it’s surroundings. A North Carolina chapter of DOCOMOMO has recently opened and a Raleigh kick-off meeting has already been held at the Urban Design Center. DOCOMOMO-NC is in the early stages of building a community of knowledgeable and enthusiastic people interested in modernism. The group plans to promote public interest through events, lectures and tours and will organize advocacy efforts to protect endangered sites and buildings. Read More
Bloomsbury Estates: 19th Century France or 21st Century Raleigh?
“My vision is to make a positive impact on the skyline of Downtown Raleigh… Our approach is different. We are focused on quality design, ambience, quality building and craftsmanship, in an excellent location with the greatest view of the Raleigh skyline. One hundred years from now I would love people to look up the hill from downtown Raleigh and observe that this building started the second wave of beautiful historical structures in Raleigh.”-John Bruckel, Bloomsbury Estates Developer Despite spelling and grammatical errors, there are so many things wrong with this statement. This developer’s thinking is flawed at the very core of the “approach.”
