2024-12-03T13:31:02-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/99374118/architect-fights-for-his-home Center for Ants 2014-05-07T18:37:00-04:00 >2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/48/48eeedwbb3wc72hy.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Lewis Mumford wrote that, in a city, &ldquo;time becomes visible.&rdquo; 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.</p></em><br /><br /><p>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 Voting 3-2, the board found that the RHDC's decision had &ldquo;no rational basis&rdquo; and the Building Permit was rescinded.</p>