North Carolina Modernist Houses Receives National DOCOMOMO-US Award

DURHAM, N.C. - March 3, 2014 - PRLog -- DOCOMOMO-US, the American branch of an international organization dedicated to documenting and conserving Modernist architecture, recently announced that North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH) has received an inaugural Modernism In America Award.

DOCOMOMO stands for the DOcumentation and COnservation of the MOdern MOvement. The Modernism In America jury awarded a Citation of Merit to NCMH founder George Smart for his organization’s contributions to documenting modern architecture at www.ncmodernist.org.

The jury also noted the vast amount of information included on the NCMH website in addition to the group’s ongoing events and programs aimed to promote and document Modernism in North Carolina and beyond.

The DOCOMOMO-US citation marks NCMH’s 11^th historic preservation award.

“Mid-century Modernist houses are frequently marginalized by real estate agents. Even owners often don’t know much about what they are selling,” Smart said. “That translates directly into long vacancies and a higher probability of eventual demolition. Eleventh-hour interventions rarely work. Besides, developers are not the enemy. The time to act is the moment you hear a Modernist house is on the market. The earlier you get involved and the more history the community has, the better chance a Modernist house has of finding a new, caring owner.”

The Modernism In America Awards is the first national program of its kind to celebrate the projects and people working to sensitively preserve and rehabilitate significant mid-century modern buildings and to raise public awareness of the ongoing threats to modern architecture and design.

“The quality and variety of the nominated projects for the inaugural year speaks to the increasing interest in the cultural value mid-century architecture brings to the United States,” said Theo Prudon, FAIA, president of DOCOMOMO-US.  DOCOMOMO-US will present the awards in Houston, Texas, March 13-15 during its 2014 National Symposium.  For more information: www.DOCOMOMO-us.org.

For more information on North Carolina Modernist Houses visit www.ncmodernist.org.

About NC Modernist Houses:

North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH) is an award-winning 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. The website is now the world’s largest open digital archive for Modernist residential design.  NCMH also hosts popular architecture events every month, giving the public access to the most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours and events raise awareness and help preserve these "livable works of art" for future generations. For more information: www.ncmodernist.org.