Arboretum's Lath House by Frank Harmon Architect PA Receives 2013 Wood Design Award

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jan. 9, 2014 - PRLog -- (Raleigh, NC) – TheJC Raulston Arboretum Lath House (http://frankharmon.com/projects/research/jc-raulston-arboretum-lath-house) in Raleigh, designed by Frank Harmon Architect PA (http://www.frankharmon.com), received a Citation Award during the prestigious 2013 Wood Design Awards sponsored by Wood Design & Building magazine in partnership with the Canadian Wood Council.

Designed pro bono and completed in 2010, the open-air Lath House functions as a laboratory for experimental horticultural techniques and methods. Through its screen of carefully placed wooden two-by-twos with steel support, the structure meets the specific light-to-shade ratio needed for infant plants in the spring as they prepare to transition into larger gardens within the arboretum grounds.

Frank Harmon, FAIA, compares the design to “an abstract tree that is spreading its branches to protect the tender plants.”

This marks the fifth award the Lath House has received. In 2011 it won both an American Institute of Architects (AIA) North Carolina chapter Honor Award and an AIA Triangle Merit Award. In 2012 it received an Honor Award from the AIA’s South Atlantic Region. And in 2013 it received an Object Design Award from Inform magazine.

Out of 125 entries, the Wood Design Awards jury selected only 16 projects to honor. The 2013 jurors were Michael Malinowski of Applied Architecture Inc., Michael Heeney of Bing Thom Architects, and Steven Raike of Lake|Flato Architects.

“The Wood Design Awards is an opportunity to showcase excellence in wood architecture and acknowledge a wide-range of wood product applications that demonstrate an understanding of the special qualities of wood such as strength, durability, aesthetic appeal and cost-effectiveness,” said Theresa Rogers, editor, Wood Design & Building magazine.

For more information on the Lath House and Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.

For more information on the annual Wood Design Awards visit www.cwc.ca

About Frank Harmon Architect PA: Frank Harmon, FAIA, is principal of the multi-award-winning firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, a Professor in Practice at NC State University’s College of Design, and the 2013 winner of AIA North Carolina’s F. Carter Williams Gold Medal, the highest honor presented by the Chapter to an AIA NC member to recognize a distinguished career and extraordinary accomplishments as an architect. In 2010 Harmon was included in Residential Architect’s inaugural “RA 50: The Short List of Architects We love.” In 2013, his firm was ranked 21st among the top 50 firms in the nation by Architect Magazine. Frank Harmon is also the author and illustrator for “Native Places,” a blog in which he uses hand-drawn sketches and mini-essays to examine the relationship between nature and built structures. For more information: www.frankharmon.com. Contact information: frank@frankharmon.com; 919.829.9464; 14 East Peace Street, Raleigh, NC 27604.