Noted Modernist Architect To Host July's "Thirst4Architecture"

July 6, 2012 - PRLog -- (Raleigh, NC) – Brian Shawcroft, AIA, an architect well known in North Carolina for Modernist residential design, will open his modern home and office in West Raleigh to design enthusiasts for Triangle Modernist Houses’  (TMH) “Thirst4Architecture” (T4A) happy hour and networking event on Thursday, July 19, from 6-8 p.m.

T4A events are free and open to the public. The host provides refreshments and TMH provides architecture-related door prizes.

Brian Shawcroft grew up in Nottingham, England. He graduated from the West Essex Technical College and School of Art in 1953 with an ARIBA degree. He interned for Tomei and Maxwell in London in 1954, Slater Uren and Pike from 1954-1956, Page and Steele in Toronto from 1956-1959, and with Eduardo Catalano in Cambridge in 1960.

Shawcroft finished his Masters in Architecture at MIT and Harvard University in 1960. From then until 1968 he was an associate professor of architecture at the NCSU School of Design.

For a time, he lived and worked with Harwell Hamilton Harris at Harris’ office on Cox Avenue. With architect Clay Taylor, he established the firm Shawcroft-Taylor in 1971, which lasted until 1990 when Shawcroft became part of the McKimmon Edwards Shawcroft partnership with Jimmy Edwards and Arthur McKimmon.

“Despite the fact that house design was never very profitable, Brian carried the torch for local Modernist architecture from the 1970s through the late 1990s,” said George Smart, founder and director of Triangle Modernist Houses, an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting modernist residential design.

Brian Shawcroft will be on hand during the event to discuss his home, which is located at 5215 Melbourne Road.

“We welcome architects, artists, designers, interior designers, realtors, engineers, contractors, property investors, building managers, Modernist homeowners, materials and furniture dealers – or anyone with a huge crush on great architecture,” Smart stressed. “T4A focuses on building relationships, generating passion about good design, creating strategic alliances, and connecting people to each other. There are no presentations or PowerPoint slides. Come join the fun and make new friends and contacts!”

For more information on this and future T4A events, visit http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/t4a.htm.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:  Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is an award-winning 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. The award-winning website is now the largest educational and historical archive for Modernist residential design in America. TMH also hosts popular Modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle's most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these "livable works of art" for future generations. Visit http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.