North Carolina: The Latest Architecture and News

The RA-50 proposal for the HOME Competition, designed by in situ studio and David Hill, AIA, focuses on building density through alleyway living. By assessing each existing residential parcel in the city of Raleigh, it was apparent that most downtown parcels are larger than the current zoning requirements and will be even larger proportionally once the new UDO is ratified. Therefore, their proposal establishes a new zone within the UDO – alley residential, or RA-50. This new zone would be allowed in any block that is bisected by an existing or potential alleyway and where lots backing up to the alleyways have a surplus of land to shave away and form new, smaller lots that could front the alleyway. More images and architects’ description after the break.

North Carolina State University’s School of Architecture recently launched their Fall 2012 lecture series which focuses on “Material | Digital.” The series begins September 24th with Grace La of La Dallman. Featuring other keynote speakers throughout the series, it concludes on November 19th with a local practitioner panel. For more information, please visit their website here.

Public voting started this past week and will go on until July 22 for the inaugural George Matsumoto Prize for North Carolina Modernist residential design, a unique architecture competition sponsored by nonprofit Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH).

The ReSpace Design Competition: ‘You Design It! We Build It!’, which focuses on small space design, green building, and sustainability, is currently accepting entries. They are on the hunt for talented architects, artists, builders, and dreamers with a knack for innovation. The challenge: Design a small, unique, and transportable structure that can be built with reuse materials. The grand prize winner receives $1,000 and a chance to see their design come to life. The winning design will be constructed in a 48 hour build overseen by Habitat for Humanity Wake County using materials from their Raleigh, North Carolina ReStore. A total of $3,000 in awards will be presented to multiple winners. Registration ends June 15 with the deadline of submissions August 15. For more information, please visit here.

A nationally recognized leader in modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate architecture, Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of the multi-award-winning architecture firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, will present a talk entitled “How Architects and Landscape Architects Can Work Together” during the North Carolina chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects’ (NCASLA) 2012 Spring Conference. Harmon, 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”. His talk will take place Friday, June 15, from 3:15-4:15 p.m. More information on the event after the break.

With an arrival sequence that starts at curbside with a new canopy system providing both shelter and a new architectural image for the building, the renovations for Terminal 1 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport have been carefully considered and addressed. Designed by Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee, their main challenge was the transformation of the existing building in support of the passenger travel experience. As the canopy extends the length of the building and transforms itself at the crosswalk linking the commercial curb canopy, both arrival and departure experienced are emphasized. More images and architects’ description after the break.

During the 2009 AIA Convention in San Francisco, I had the chance to see a very interesting group of architects, Emerging Voices. That group, in my opinion, represented the new generation of US architects who are advancing the profession with new ideas and innovative projects. Several of those architects have already been interviewed and featured on ArchDaily, but it took me a while to finally meet one of them: Philip G. Freelon. We met during the 2011 AIA Convention in New Orleans, where I had the opportunity to interview him. I really liked this interview, where Philip shares valuable insights on running a firm and his views on the role of the architect.

With the help from a few of our readers, our Architecture City Guide headed to Charlotte this week. By American standards Charlotte is an old city, but it has undergone a huge transformation in the last few decades with the influx of banking headquarters. It is now the second largest banking center in the United State and this is partly reflected in its growing skyline. We, with the help of our readers, have put together a list of 12 buildings worth seeing. There are plenty more that could have made the list so please add your favorites to the comment section below.

The Architecture City Guide: Charlotte list and corresponding map after the break.

We want to try a new bottom-up approach to our Architecture City Guides and we need your help. To make the City Guides much more engaging we are asking for your input on which designs should comprise our weekly list of 12. In order for this to work we will need you, our readers, to suggest a few of your favorite modern/contemporary buildings for the upcoming city guide in the comment section below. Along with your suggestions we ask that you provide a link to a Flickr image you took of the building that we can use, the address of the building, and the architect. From that we will select the top 12 most recommended buildings. Hopefully this method will help bring to our attention smaller well done projects that only locals truly know. With that in mind we do not showcase private single-family residences for obvious reasons.

BRITE is a part of a statewide initiative to make North Carolina a premiere provider of skilled workers for the biotechnology industry. The facility houses laboratories and classrooms for faculty providing undergraduate and graduate level education in the areas of Process Development, Quality Control and Quality Assurance. The facility, representative of the development labs found in industry, allow students to get hands-on training as part of their collegiate experience.

Architect: The Freelon Group Architects Location: Durham, North Carolina, USA Project Area: 59,900 sqf Photographs: James West

On March 21, 2011, London architect John Pawson will present the 2011 Harwell Hamilton Harris Endowed Lecture at NC State University in Raleigh, N.C. This annual lecture honors the late, former professor of architecture who taught at NC State from 1962 to 1975. Upon his death in 1990, Harris left to the College of Design an endowment that funds this annual lecture.

Architect: Thomas Phifer Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Partner in Charge: Thomas Phifer AIA Project Partner: Greg Reaves AIA LEED AP Project Architect: Gabriel Smith AIA LEED AP Project Team: Adam Ruffin, Katie Bennett, Jonathan Benner, Eric Richey, Daniel Taft, Kerim Demirkan, Len Lopate, ChristophTimm, Joseph Sevene Local Architects: Pierce Brinkley Cease + Lee, Raleigh, NC Structural Engineer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago, IL Mechanical Engineer: AltieriSeborWieber LLC, Norwalk, CT Landscape Architect: Lappas + Havener, PA, Durham, N.C. Lighting Design: Fisher Marantz Stone, New York, NY General Contractor: Barnhill, Raleigh NC Project Area: 136,000 sf Project Year: 2010 Photographs: Scott Frances

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