Archinect - News

NIMBYs go to court over "modern" home; Zaha gets an apology; global warming rages on: News Round-Up for August 25, 2014

2014-09-02T20:07:00-04:00

Friday, August 29:

MIT's MindRider helmet draws mental maps as you bike: The prototype is currently being used to create a mental-map and guidebook for NYC, and an upcoming Kickstarter campaign will attempt to fund the project for commercial sale.
In Beirut, a grassroots push for more grass: Lebanon's fifteen-year civil war made much of Beirut's green space inaccessible or dysfunctional. The Beirut Green Project is trying to bring at least a modicum of green space back to the city's residents.

Thursday, August 28:

Norwegian artists plan to open art academy in North Korea: Nothing's final yet, but the school is committed to its disbelief in sanctions or boycotts on art.
Alvar Aalto gets a close look from Google's Cultural Institute: Google's cameras go inside the famous Finnish architects studio, as well as a selection of his works, for a curated photo-exhibition.

Wednesday, August 27:

China considering drastic ban on coal: Chinese news outlets claim that work is underway to ban coal in Bei...

Hearing begins for "modernist" North Carolina home threatened with demolition

2014-08-26T14:38:00-04:00

Today is day two in court for architect Louis Cherry and his wife, Marsha Gordon, for the hearing that will decide the fate of their new home in the historic Oakwood neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina. Back in March, a neighbor complained that the "modernist" style of Cherry's home didn't jive with the neighborhood's tone, and successfully appealed to have the building's permits revoked. Construction was halted, and now the decision of whether the house can be finished, demolished, or forcibly modified to local design standards has been brought to court.

We first covered this issue back in May and July, and the preservationist-NIMBYism that it's raised. Opening statements for the case were held yesterday, although it could take months for the judge to issue a final decision.

UPDATE: The hearing has been adjourned, according to @RaleighReporter, Colin Campbell (reporter for The News & Observer, North Raleigh News and Midtown Raleigh News).

@NCMHTweets reported from inside the court...

Don’t Like Your Neighbors’ House? Sue Them.

2014-07-14T13:32:00-04:00

“Words like ‘holocaust’ have been used in reference to the idea that our house could inspire a rash of tear-downs which could then be replaced with modern homes. I designed my house specifically within the design guidelines of this historic district and to be compatible, a good neighbor. But the term ‘modernism’ just clicks a switch in people’s brain and they can’t see the house for what it is.”

Previously: Architect Fights for His Home

Architect Fights for His Home

2014-05-07T18:37:00-04:00

Lewis Mumford wrote that, in a city, “time becomes visible.” Not, it would appear, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a city board has just decided that a rather discreet and understated modern house might need to be torn down because it damages the ambience of a historic district, which is to say it destroys the illusion that the neighborhood is a place in which time has stopped.

A battle of bureaucracy and "historic preservation" is playing out in a Raleigh, NC neighborhood. Louis Cherry, FAIA, is building his own home in the Oakwood neighborhood of Raleigh. After having received approval for his design by relevant city agencies, including the Raleigh Historic Development Commission who oversees the Oakwood Historic District, construction proceeded in the vacant lot Cherry purchased. Gail Wiesner, his neighbor, has since led a charge to halt its construction filing an appeal with the local Board of Adjustment, who oversee procedure of local public agencies. Voting 3-2, the board found that the RHDC's decision had “no rational basis” and the Building Permit was rescinded.