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Hi Folks!
It’s that time of year when every nonprofit you’ve ever supported (and many you haven’t) come out of the woodwork asking for money. Some list their accomplishments, others list horrible things that may happen unless you donate.
We’ll just say this. We appreciate your participation and support this year, and if you make a tax-deductible donation before Friday, January 5, 5pm PT, a donor will double it. Boom. Every donor over $250 gets two years of Mod Squad membership. Boom. Happy 2024!
With much gratitude,
George
George Smart HAIA | Executive Director
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The Owen Smith House Tour, Raleigh NC, this Saturday, January 6, 10-3pm. Owen Smith was for years the longest-practicing architect in North Carolina. He did many buildings, but his own 1960 house in Raleigh's Country Club Hills was considered one of his best projects. At 5,000 square feet with a huge basement for his firm's office, it was for a time the largest local Modernist house in Raleigh. Now you can see this classic MCM house, with respectful updates and restorations by architect Andy Lawrence.
Advance $9.95 tickets end today at 5pm ET. Day-of walkup price: $19.95. All proceeds benefit NCModernist's documentation and preservation programs. Details and tickets.
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Dome Alone!
Saturday, January 27, 10-3pm, 301 Sky Lane, Pittsboro NC.
Ever dreamed about living inside a dome home? Experience it for yourself as NCModernist invites architecture enthusiasts to a unique tour of a stunning geodesic dome. This isn't just any house; it's a marvel of engineering and design, blending organic beauty with technology. Feel the embrace of the curved walls, a sensory experience that no traditional home can offer. Hear from the homeowners about their experience living in a dome and the unique challenges and joys it brings. Discover the possibilities of geodesic domes and support a great cause.
All proceeds benefit NCModernist's documentation and preservation programs. Details and advance tickets.
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Architect and musician Lynn Swisher Spears died in December in Durham NC. Born Roger Spears in southwestern Iowa, she trained at Iowa State University and Harvard's Graduate School of Design. She worked for Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck (1988-1992), Smith Sinnett Associates (1998-2000), O'Brien Atkins Associates (2001-2005), and Szostak Design from 2005 until her retirement. She was also an assistant professor at North Carolina State's College of Design (1993-1998). Her most famous design was the Darth Vader house in Houston TX. | |
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Join our community and support the architecture you love! USModernist Mod Squad membership provides important financial support for the documentation, preservation, and promotion of residential Modernist architecture.
We can't do it without you! Details.
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Video from Architectural Digest: cool digs in Hyde Park NY on the Hudson River that today would be deemed too close to the water. | |
End of year cleaning? Need more room in your home, attic, basement, office, or oh-so-expensive storage unit? We accept donations of Modernist furniture, contemporary art, and architecture coffee-table-style books. What could be easier? We pick things up and you get a tax deduction. Contact us. | |
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Know of an endangered Modernist house in your neighborhood, city, or state? Through our preservation alert program, Modernism In Danger, USModernist calls attention to the Modernist houses around the country that are at risk for deterioration, demolition, or inappropriate renovation (like turning your Modernist house into an Italianate villa). Click here to tell us about Modernist houses in trouble.
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Speaking of travel trailers, here's a very rare Spartan for sale. It's essentially a full house on wheels. | |
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When architecture libraries want to recover valuable shelf space but find it painful to see architecture and design magazines thrown away, even if they’ve not been accessed for decades, the USModernist Library can help. So far, libraries and collectors and design firms have shipped us over 4.3 million pages for scanning.
Let us help you free up shelf space and give these magazines new, text-searchable, online life – and world access. Here are the magazines we need. We pay shipping - and you help the world get free, searchable, downloadable content for the first time. Contact us.
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January 6: Owen Smith House Tour, Raleigh NC. Details and tickets.
January 11: Thirst4Architecture, NC State Gregg Museum, Raleigh NC. Free, registration required.
January 13-June 16: Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist. Palm Springs Art Museum. Curated by Brad Dunning. Details.
January 27: DomeAlone! Our first dome house tour. Details and tickets.
February 8: Thirst4Architecture, AR Homes, Raleigh NC. Free, registration required.
April 25: Thirst4Architecture, REdesign.build Tower Street Project, Raleigh NC. Free, registration required.
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Saturday-Thursday, February 17-22
If you're into mid-century Modernist architecture, you don't want to miss Modapalooza, USModernist's glamourous new series of wildly exciting house tours, parties, and special events in Palm Springs in February. You'll get exclusive access to some of the best midcentury Modernist houses in Palm Springs. Take a leisurely daytime tour, or visit in the late afternoon for a wonderful sunset cocktail party, or stop by the Martini Whisperer Phillip Jones for advice on preparing your next cocktail. And there are more exciting tours and parties at the Palevsky House, designed by Craig Ellwood, and the Christopher Kennedy Forever Home. Proceeds benefit the documentation, preservation, and promotion work of USModernist, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational archive, the largest in the world for midcentury modern houses. Details and tickets.
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USModernist Global 7: London / Brussels / Antwerp / Amsterdam,
May 13-22. Are you ready for some heart-pounding Modernist architecture in England, Belgium, and the Netherlands? You just won't believe the incredible Modernist architecture in three countries! Just 10 places left! Details and tickets.
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Latest USModernist Radio Podcast | |
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#333/Children of Genius: Francesca Breuer Wallace + Heikki Aalto-Alanen
We ring in 2024 in our continuing series Children of Genius, where Francesca Breuer Wallace gives her first interview - ever. Her father, Marcel Breuer, was one of the pioneers of Modernist architecture, and the famous Cesca or Breuer cane and tubular frame chair is named for her. Later, it’s the grandson of Aino and Alvar Aalto, Heikki Aalto-Alanen, with a new book on his grandparents.
| US Modernist Radio is underwritten by Diane Bald and The Budman Family, restoring significant architecture in Toronto, Los Angeles, Malibu, and Palm Springs. New to podcasts? You can listen to USModernist Radio on any major podcast platform or through any computer. | |
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Thursday, January 11, 5-7pm. Leading by Design Exhibition Thirst4Architecture, Gregg Museum, Raleigh NC. NC State’s School of Design became a reality in September 1948 and rapidly gained a reputation as one of the top design schools in the nation. The most progressive school of architecture and allied arts in the South, it served as a hub of Modernist creativity. Led by Henry Kamphoefner, the school rocketed to fame in just a few years, with Frank Lloyd Wright himself visiting in 1950.
Over wine and appetizers, you'll see the remarkable exhibition Leading by Design on the school’s 75-year legacy showcasing artworks from the Gregg Museum’s permanent collection created by faculty past and present. Free, registration required.
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Preservation easements are like a homeowner's association for just one house and are the only legally enforceable way in most jurisdictions to keep a Modernist house from being destroyed in the future.
National Register status? Famous architect? Local historic designation or tax credits? At best, these things may delay demolition six months to a year but they won't stop it. Here's the Zoom video presentation featuring Preservation North Carolina and NCModernist, along with Jane Levy, Greensboro Modernist homeowner.
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North Carolina Realtors and owners of NC Modernist houses can now list - for sale or for rent - on our free NCModernist database. Listings limited to detached single family Modernist houses, old or new, and the house must be in North Carolina. Details.
Got a great Modernist house that's not selling? How would you like 60 people or more (up to 200) to come by and see it one Saturday? We can do that for you, free. Contact.
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Vacancy, not development, is the enemy of mid-century Modernist houses. Preserve and protect the architecture you love by notifying us when North Carolina houses go vacant or on the market.
Check out the NCModernist For Sale/Rent database. Realtors and owners can list their NC Modernist houses for sale or rent there for free, and you can browse there anytime you like! Submissions are subject to approval: single family Modernist houses only, they can be old or new, the architect or designer can be from anywhere, but the house must be in North Carolina.
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Donate to USModernist's nonprofit mission of documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential architecture. | | | | |
