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	<title>Frank Harmon &#187; Press Releases</title>
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		<title>Frank Harmon Chairs Boston Society of Architects Awards Jury</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-chairs-boston-society-of-architects-awards-jury/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-chairs-boston-society-of-architects-awards-jury/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:54:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[awards chair]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[awards jury]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boston Society of Architects]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=1273</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To select the best new buildings by Massachusetts architects. 


 
February 2, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) &#8211;  Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, recently served as chairman of the 2011 Boston Society of Architects/AIA design awards program and presented the awards to the winners during a gala ceremony held January [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>To select the best new buildings by Massachusetts architects. </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a rel="attachment wp-att-1274" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-chairs-boston-society-of-architects-awards-jury/attachment/fh-headshot-xsm-7/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1274" title="FH headshot xsm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FH-headshot-xsm-300x200.jpg" alt="FH headshot xsm" width="300" height="200" /></a><br />
</em></strong></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>February 2, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) &#8211;  Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a> in Raleigh, NC, recently served as chairman of the 2011 <a href="http://awards.architects.org/2011/">Boston Society of Architects/AIA design awards program</a> and presented the awards to the winners during a gala ceremony held January 26 at the Marriott Copley Place.</p>
<p>The sole judging criterion for the Boston program was design excellence. The jury was empowered to determine the extent to which design excellence is defined by aesthetic, functional, contextual, sustainable, social or other characteristics. The jury could also elect to honor all or part of a project, in any category they choose. The categories included: Accessible Design; Education Facilities Design, John M. Clancy Award for Socially Responsible Housing, Sustainable Design, Unbuilt, Honor Awards for Design Excellence, and the Harleston Parker Medal award.</p>
<p>“The work of the Boston Society of Architects is quite simply exceptional, some of the best in the country,” Harmon said. “It was a pleasure to review their work.”</p>
<p>This year&#8217;s Boston jury was composed of members of the Triangle Architecture and Design Society (TADS), a group of architects from Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC, that fosters collaboration among competing area practitioners and encourages greater public understanding of architectural design. TADS has proven so successful that it has garnered national AIA attention.</p>
<p>TADS members participating with Harmon on the Boston jury were: Roger Clark FAIA, Distinguished Professor at the College of Design NCSU, and David Hill, AIA, Associate professor at the College of Design; Dennis Stallings, AIA, and Irv Pearce, AIA, of Pearce, Brinkley, Cease + Lee; Ellen Weinstein, AIA; Phil Szostak, FAIA; Bryan Bell, AIA; and Victoria Bell as an alternate juror.</p>
<p>Frank Harmon is a sought-after jury member and jury chairman for professional design competitions across the nation. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
<p>For more information on the Boston Society/AIA, visit <a href="http://www.architects.org/">www.architects.org</a>.</p>
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		<title>&#8220;Appetite4Architecture&#8221; Dinner Features Special Guest Frank Harmon, FAIA</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/appetite4architecture-dinner-features-special-guest-frank-harmon-faia/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/appetite4architecture-dinner-features-special-guest-frank-harmon-faia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:59:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frank Harmon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[modernist houses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Triangle Modernist Houses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=1259</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The first in a series of dinners sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses.
 
 
January 18, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon FAIA, founder and principal of the award-winning firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, will be a featured guest at the first 2012 “Appetite4Architecture” dinner on Tuesday, January 31, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>The first in a series of dinners sponsored by Triangle Modernist Houses.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<div id="attachment_1260" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><strong><em><a rel="attachment wp-att-1260" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/appetite4architecture-dinner-features-special-guest-frank-harmon-faia/attachment/fh-headshot-09-xsm/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1260" title="FH Headshot '09 xsm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/FH-Headshot-09-xsm-300x200.jpg" alt="Frank Harmon, FAIA" width="300" height="200" /></a></em></strong><p class="wp-caption-text">Frank Harmon, FAIA</p></div>
<p><strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<p>January 18, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon FAIA, founder and principal of the award-winning firm <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a> in Raleigh, will be a featured guest at the first 2012 “Appetite4Architecture” dinner on Tuesday, January 31, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in 18 Seaboard restaurant in Raleigh.</p>
<p>Now in its third year, “Appetite4Architecture” dinners are sponsored by <a href="http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com">Triangle Modernist Houses</a> (TMH), an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design. The purpose of the dinners is to give the general public a chance to dine with, and talk with, some of the Triangle area’s finest architects in a relaxed, informal setting.</p>
<p>Frank Harmon is well known for modern, innovative, sustainable and regionally appropriate architecture of all types, including houses. Among his best known, award-winning residential designs are:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/28/">The Taylor Vacation House</a> in the Bahamas, which is included in the book <em>Tropical Modernism</em> and was featured in an exhibit in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., among many other accolades.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/19/">The Strickland-Ferris Residence</a> in Raleigh, which has been featured in a number of architectural magazines and received both <em>Custom Home</em> and <em>Wood Design</em> awards.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/15/">The Low Country Residence</a> in Mount Pleasant, SC, which also received a Custom Home Design Award and a national AIA Housing Award.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/25/">And his own modern home and gardens</a> that he shares with his wife, landscape architect Judy Harmon, in Raleigh, which were featured in Sarah Susanka’s book <em>Outside The Not-So-Big House</em>.</li>
</ul>
<p>In 2011, Frank Harmon was included in <em>Residential Architect</em> magazine’s “RA 50: A Short List of Architects We Love,” and in 2005 his firm received the magazine’s “Top Firm of the Year” honor. He has been profiled in <em>Dwell</em> magazine and <em>Architectural Record</em>, and he has been a featured guest on American Public Media’s “The Story” with Dick Gordon.</p>
<p>Joining Harmon for TMH’s inaugural 2012 “A4A” dinner will be Durham architect Ellen Cassilly, AIA, who worked in Harmon’s firm before founding her own firm Ellen Cassilly Architect Inc., and Randy Lanou, president of BuildSense/Studio B Architecture, also in Durham. Dona Aguayo of Go Realty is co-sponsoring the January 31 dinner.</p>
<p>The TMH “A4A” <em>dinners</em><em> </em>are all held at 18 Seaboard, 18 Seaboard Avenue, No. 100, Raleigh, NC 27604. The <em>dinners</em><em> </em>include three courses from a preselected menu (vegetarian options are available) plus coffee, water, tea, tax, and gratuity. Price per person is $53. Tickets are available at <a href="http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/a4a">www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/a4a</a>. Payments are nonrefundable except for event cancellation. All proceeds benefit TMH&#8217;s ongoing documentation, preservation, and house tours programs. For more information on TMH call George Smart, 919-740-8407 or visit <a href="http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com">www.trianglemodernisthouses.com</a>.</p>
<p>For more information on Frank Harmon, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>Frank Harmon Discusses the New AIA Center for Architecture and Design in New Video</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-discusses-the-new-aia-center-for-architecture-and-design-in-new-video/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-discusses-the-new-aia-center-for-architecture-and-design-in-new-video/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:23:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIA NC headquarters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Allen Weiss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frank Harmon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gregg Bleam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Raleigh NC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=1181</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Harmon and landscape architect Gregg Bleam talk about the design process. 

December 6, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) &#8212; Architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, of Frank Harmon Architect PA, recently posted a new video on his website (www.frankharmon.com) in which he and landscape architect Gregg Bleam discuss the design process behind the soon-to-be-completed AIA NC Center for Architecture [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>Harmon and landscape architect Gregg Bleam talk about the design process. </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a rel="attachment wp-att-1182" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-discusses-the-new-aia-center-for-architecture-and-design-in-new-video/attachment/aia-nc-1_sm/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1182" title="AIA NC-1_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AIA-NC-1_sm-300x225.jpg" alt="AIA NC-1_sm" width="300" height="225" /></a></em></strong></p>
<p>December 6, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) &#8212; Architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, of <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a>, recently posted a new video on his website (www.frankharmon.com) in which he and<a href="http://www.gbla.net"> landscape architect Gregg Bleam</a> discuss the design process behind the soon-to-be-completed <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/current/3/">AIA NC Center for Architecture and Design</a> in downtown Raleigh.</p>
<p>Segments of the video will be updated as AIA NC (the American Institute of Architects North Carolina chapter) moves in and the landscape matures.</p>
<p>Harmon explains at the beginning of the video that the project is the result of his firm winning a professional design competition. One of the reasons Harmon won, according to the judges, was that his concept for a modern, thoroughly sustainable, and regionally appropriate Center embraced building and landscape as a single interdependent, interlocking whole.</p>
<p>“We knew this was a landscape problem,” Harmon says, because of the oddly shaped, triangular site and the parking requirements. As a result, he enlisted Bleam “before we drew a single line” and felt including Bleam in the video on the building was imperative.</p>
<p>Directed and shot by Allen Weiss of <a href="http://www.allen-weiss.com">Allen Weiss: Works on Film and Paper</a> in Raleigh, the video features Harmon in his warehouse-turned-office in Raleigh’s Boylan Heights neighborhood and Bleam in his office in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. It also includes a variety of footage of the building under construction; of Harmon and Bleam walking the site, looking over plans and laughing together; and behind-the-scenes moments in the construction trailer.</p>
<div id="attachment_1183" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1183" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-discusses-the-new-aia-center-for-architecture-and-design-in-new-video/attachment/fh-headshot-xsm-6/"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1183" title="FH headshot xsm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/FH-headshot-xsm-150x150.jpg" alt="Frank Harmon, FAIA" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Frank Harmon, FAIA</p></div>
<p>This is the first video that Frank Harmon, a multi-awarding winning architect and Professor in Practice at NC State University’s College of Design, has done for his website. Why did he choose this particular project?</p>
<p>“Because of its design, the AIA NC Center for Architecture and Design is destined to be an icon in downtown Raleigh,” said <a href="http://www.blueplatepr.com">Kim Weiss</a>, Harmon’s public relations coordinator. “It’s also the first from-the-ground-up, ‘green’ AIA headquarters in the nation.</p>
<p>“But equally important,” she continued, “is that the general public rarely gets to hear an architect talk about the process that lead to the design of a building, especially one as iconic as this one. Through the video, Frank is creating a rapport with his audience, whether that means students, clients, future clients, or folks just interested in architecture. Together, he and Gregg are communicating more than a written description could.”</p>
<p>She also pointed out that “videos are entertaining. It’s simply a fact that people today are more likely to click on a video than to read a written description.”</p>
<p>The man behind the camera, <a href="http://www.allen-weiss.com">Allen Weiss</a>, noted how comfortable Harmon and Bleam were in front of the camera. “There was no script,” he said. “They just started talking and were of such a similar mindset that I could easily cut from one to the other as they discussed the design process. I was impressed.”</p>
<p>The video opens and closes with audible off-camera voices. Weiss said he purposefully left the “chatter” in during the edit to give the piece a casual, relaxed feel, “unlike the garden-variety, industrial, talking-head videos that are dry and offer no clues into the personalities behind them. I don’t believe you can separate the product from the dynamic and interesting personalities that lead to its creation. My intention was not only to showcase this important structure, but to allow viewers to get to know Frank and Gregg in a simply, personal, human way.”</p>
<p>To hear Frank Harmon and Gregg Bleam discuss the design process behind the AIA NC Center for Architecture and Design, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a> and click on <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/aia_design_process.php">AIA North Carolina Center for Architecture Design</a> <em>– </em>Video.” To read more about the project, click on “current” projects.</p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>For more information on Gregg Bleam Landscape Architect, go to <a href="http://www.gbla.net/">www.gbla.net</a>.</p>
<p>For more information on Allen Weiss, visit <a href="http://www.allen-weiss.com/">www.allen-weiss.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>Modern, Green Playhouse Designed To Inspire Imagination</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/modern-green-playhouse-designed-to-inspire-imagination/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/modern-green-playhouse-designed-to-inspire-imagination/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:05:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[modern design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[modern playhouse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Playhouse Parade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[playhouses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=1129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Frank Harmon Architect PA participates in Playhouse Parade fundraiser, auction.

September 20, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) &#8212; Award-winning architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, believes “the best toy is one that allows the greatest freedom. Lego is a good example, a child under a table with a tablecloth surrounding her is another, and nothing is better than a muddy [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>Frank Harmon Architect PA participates in Playhouse Parade fundraiser, auction.</p>
<div id="attachment_1130" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1130" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/modern-green-playhouse-designed-to-inspire-imagination/attachment/color-scan-elevations_sm/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1130 " style="border: 1px solid black;" title="color scan, elevations_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/color-scan-elevations_sm-300x178.jpg" alt="Color scheme, elevations" width="300" height="178" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Color scheme, elevations</p></div>
<p></em></strong></p>
<p>September 20, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) &#8212; Award-winning architect <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon, FAIA</a>, believes “the best toy is one that allows the greatest freedom. Lego is a good example, a child under a table with a tablecloth surrounding her is another, and nothing is better than a muddy stream.&#8221; That’s why the custom-built playhouse his firm has designed for the upcoming <a href="http://sassafrasplay.org/playhouse">Playhouse Parade in Raleigh</a> is about creating spaces that will inspire a child’s imagination.</p>
<p>The Playhouse Parade is a collaboration among the City of Raleigh Parks &amp; Recreation Department, Cameron Village Shopping Center, the Triangle Builders Guild, and a variety of designers, architects, businesses, and individuals to raise funds for the Sassafras All Children’s Playground, a new playground in Laurel Hills that will be accessible for children with special needs.</p>
<p>Frank Harmon’s design team is well-known for modern, sustainable and regionally appropriate</p>
<div id="attachment_1131" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1131" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/modern-green-playhouse-designed-to-inspire-imagination/attachment/exterior1_sm/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1131" title="Exterior1_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Exterior1_sm-300x225.jpg" alt="Exterior (under construction)" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Exterior (under construction)</p></div>
<p>architecture, and this playhouse – like the <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/17/">Dog House </a>the firm designed in 2005 to raise funds for Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina &#8212; is no exception.</p>
<p>In modern architecture, form follows function. But in the playhouse, form follows play &#8212; to allow children’s imagination the greatest freedom.</p>
<p>Rather than designing a themed playhouse &#8212; a pirate ship or a firehouse, for example &#8212; Harmon’s playhouse “lets a child use his or her imagination,” he says, “from tea parties to puppet shows and even making mud-pies.”</p>
<p>The tall, narrow structure features a covered porch/stage, a lower-level playroom with two windows, and a loft level with a balcony or ”Juliet” window. On the first level, behind the ladder that rises to the loft, is the “kitchen,” where a shelf with buckets sits ready for mud-pie making. Sliding shutters at both lower windows open for puppet shows but close to keep out rain &#8212; and imaginary forces</p>
<div id="attachment_1132" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 190px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1132" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/modern-green-playhouse-designed-to-inspire-imagination/attachment/interior_sm/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1132 " title="interior_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/interior_sm-225x300.jpg" alt="Interior showing the upper-level loft" width="180" height="240" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Interior showing the upper-level loft</p></div>
<p>attacking a fort. The large main door at the front of the playhouse can be thrown open for stage productions. In its closed position, a smaller door-within-a door allows children to enter and exit, and a “peep hole” window above the small door allows sun light in and serves as a “spy portal.” A planter in front of the porch/stage invites children to grow flowers and vegetables.</p>
<p>&#8220;How important is it,&#8221; Harmon asks, &#8220;for children to learn where a tomato comes from?&#8221;</p>
<p>In keeping with the principals of green, or sustainable, design, the structure is composed of locally available materials: painted wood (plywood and 2&#215;4s and 2&#215;2s), metal (galvanized pipe), and translucent corrugated polycarbonate for the roof. The windows provide natural ventilation and lighting, and the deep roof overhang protects the interior from the hot summer sun.</p>
<p>Harmon and his design team consulted with a child psychologist and several children during the design process, and built the playhouse to the scale of a three- to seven-year-old child.</p>
<p>“It’s real, but small,” says <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Courtney Evans</a>, Harmon’s architectural intern, who spearheaded the</p>
<div id="attachment_1133" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 212px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1133" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/modern-green-playhouse-designed-to-inspire-imagination/attachment/window_sm/"><img class="size-full wp-image-1133 " title="window_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/window_sm.jpg" alt="Window with sliding shutter" width="202" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Window with sliding shutter</p></div>
<p>project.</p>
<p>Twelve design teams are designing, building, and donating playhouses that will be displayed in Cameron Village on two Saturdays, October 8 and 15, then auctioned off on October 22 during the “Night Under The Stars Playhouse Parade Gala.” Proceeds from the auction will be used to restore the city’s one-of-a-kind playground that gives kids, no matter what their abilities, the chance to play. For more information: <a href="http://sassafrasplay.org/playhouse">http://sassafrasplay.org/playhouse</a>.</p>
<p>For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>Frank Harmon Architect PA Wins High Award For Simple Project</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-wins-high-award-for-simple-project/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-wins-high-award-for-simple-project/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:48:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIA North Carolina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JC Raulston Arboretum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NC State University]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=1122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House at NC State University wins AIA NC Honor Award. 

 
September 15, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon Architect PA has received a 2011 Honor Award from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA NC) for the firm’s design of North Carolina State University’s JC Raulston [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House at NC State University wins AIA NC Honor Award. <a rel="attachment wp-att-1123" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-wins-high-award-for-simple-project/attachment/lath-house_sm-2/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1123" title="Lath House_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Lath-House_sm.jpg" alt="Lath House_sm" width="288" height="216" /></a><br />
</em></strong></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>September 15, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon Architect PA has received a 2011 Honor Award from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA NC) for the firm’s design of North Carolina State University’s JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House in Raleigh.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/current/40/">Lath House</a> received one of only two Honor Awards presented this year, and it was a <em>pro bono</em> project for Harmon’s firm as a gift to the Arboretum.</p>
<p>The Lath House is an open-air laboratory for horticultural research. Its screen of wood two-by-twos fulfills the specific light-to-shade ratio young plants need before they transition into the larger gardens.</p>
<p>According to the firm’s principal, <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon, FAIA</a>, the structure was designed as an abstract of a tree that spreads its branches to protect the plants.</p>
<p>The Lath House replaced an older structure that sheltered approximately 700 young and tender plants that perform best in shade. The new structure may provide space for 1000 new plantings.</p>
<p>The 10 and a half-acre <a href="http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/index.php">JC Raulston Arboretum</a> is a nationally acclaimed garden with one of the largest and most diverse collections of plants, shrubs and trees adapted for use in Southeastern landscapes from over 50 different countries. Plants are collected and evaluated in an effort to find superior plants for use in southern gardens. The Lath House is a key element in the arboretum’s work.</p>
<p>“Over the last three decades, the JC Raulston Lath House has nurtured some of the most successful plants for use in Southern <a rel="attachment wp-att-1124" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-wins-high-award-for-simple-project/attachment/detail_sm/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1124" title="Detail_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Detail_sm-223x300.jpg" alt="Detail_sm" width="156" height="210" /></a>gardens, including hostas, ferns, hydrangea and rhododendron,” Harmon said. “We were honored to be a part of the Arboretum’s mission by designing the new Lath House.”</p>
<p>Will Lambeth, a former member of Harmon’s design team who left to attend Harvard University, served on the design team for the Lath House, which received a Merit Award this summer from the Triangle section of AIA NC and has been published at ArchDaily.com.</p>
<p>Harmon’s firm is known for designing projects that celebrate plant life, such as the cluster of buildings for the NC Botanical Gardens Visitors Education Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Walnut Creek Wetlands Education Center in Raleigh, and the NC Museum of Natural Science’s open-air classroom at the Prairie Ridge Eco-station, also in Raleigh.  For more information visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>The Bridge at Concord</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/the-bridge-at-concord/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/the-bridge-at-concord/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:25:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lectures / Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[concord massachusetts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Declaration of Independence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[historic places]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minute Man National Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[War of Independence]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=1072</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Frank Harmon
At museums and visitors centers, less interpretation is more.
One day in the 1970s, I wandered into the rare documents room at the British Museum, where cloth-shrouded glass cases held poems, speeches and letters written by famous people. You could pull back a cloth, read the document, and
cover it up again. When I pulled [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.frankharmon.com"><em><strong>By Frank Harmon</strong></em></a></p>
<p>At museums and visitors centers, less interpretation is more.</p>
<p>One day in the 1970s, I wandered into the rare documents room at the British Museum, where cloth-shrouded glass cases held poems, speeches and letters written by famous people. You could pull back a cloth, read the document, and</p>
<div id="attachment_1075" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1075" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/the-bridge-at-concord/attachment/north-bridge-at-concord-2/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1075  " title="North Bridge at Concord" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/North-Bridge-at-Concord1-300x182.jpg" alt="North Bridge at Concord by Frank Harmon" width="300" height="182" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">North Bridge at Concord by Frank Harmon</p></div>
<p>cover it up again. When I pulled back one of the cloths, I caught my breath: Before me was the Magna Carta. How amazing, I thought, to find the most important document in British history displayed so diffidently, in a glass case with a curtain over it. I was thrilled.</p>
<p>In America, we handle our history differently. The Declaration of Independence, for example, is encased in bulletproof glass in a gold-plated, titanium frame filled with argon gas. The case is lowered each night into a crypt beneath the National. Archive. The display is so overpowering that it is possible to feel that the container is more important than the founding document inside. It makes me feel as if I am being told of its importance rather than invited to discover it. Yet history is best discovered by each of us, just as democracy is best preserved as a personal responsibility.</p>
<p>I had another epiphany recently when I visited the North Bridge at Concord, Massachusetts, where the first battle of the American War of Independence took place. Now preserved as part of the Minute Man National Historical Park, the Bridge at Concord is a simple wooden structure spanning a stream about fifty feet wide. At each end of the bridge stand two stone monuments, one erected by the Americans, one by the British, many years after the battle. There is no visitors center nearby, no auditorium with a twenty-minute film, no interactive video recreating the battle, and certainly no titanium cases containing artifacts in argon. Instead, in a clearing next to the bridge, visitors sit in a small semicircle of wooden benches. A park ranger stands and tells how the British army, marching out from Boston to intimidate the colonists, approached the bridge and was met by a volunteer group of Minutemen.</p>
<p>The effect of his story is compelling. We can see the short distance between the two groups of men, who, muskets drawn, faced death that morning. We can imagine how the roar of guns silenced birds’ songs on that spring day. We can see the road where the American farmers approached the bridge, and we can see the road down which the British fled. The ranger quotes a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson for the dedication of the American monument on July 4,1837:</p>
<p><em>On the rude bridge that arched the flood,</em></p>
<p><em>Their flag to April&#8217;s breeze unfurled,</em></p>
<p><em>Here once the embattled farmers stood</em></p>
<p><em>And fired the shot heard round the world.</em></p>
<p><em><br />
</em></p>
<p>There at the North Bridge, nothing stands between our history and us except sunlight reflected in the dust. We are enlightened without being pushed, always a welcome experience.</p>
<p>Sometimes the best thing for a designer to do is to not get in the way.</p>
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		<title>Frank Harmon Architect PA Makes &#8220;Architect 50&#8243; List for Third Straight Year</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-makes-architect-50-list-for-third-straight-year/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-makes-architect-50-list-for-third-straight-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2011 18:09:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Media Recognition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIA NC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIA Triangle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Architect 50]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[modern architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NC architecture firm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[regional design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=927</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The small Raleigh, NC,  firm ranks 21st this year among the top 50 firms in the nation.
May 16, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – For the third consecutive year, Frank Harmon
Architect PA has made Architect magazine’s “Architect 50” list of architectural firms from across the nation, placing 21st.
Architect magazine ranks firms for its annual Architect 50 list [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>The small Raleigh, NC,  firm ranks 21st this year among the top 50 firms in the nation.</em></strong></p>
<p>May 16, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – For the third consecutive year, <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon</p>
<div id="attachment_928" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 160px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-928" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-makes-architect-50-list-for-third-straight-year/attachment/fh-headshot-xsm-5/"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-928" title="FH headshot xsm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/FH-headshot-xsm-150x150.jpg" alt="Frank Harmon, FAIA" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Frank Harmon, FAIA</p></div>
<p>Architect PA</a> has made <a href="http://www.architectmagazine.com"><em>Architect</em></a> magazine’s “Architect 50” list of architectural firms from across the nation, placing 21st.</p>
<p><em>Architect</em> magazine ranks firms for its annual Architect 50 list based on a composite assessment of the firms’ commitment to sustainability, design quality, and profitability.</p>
<p>“The usual rating of firms by gross billing, number of employees, etc., would not include our firm,” said Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a>. “But when we are rated on design recognition for our clients, sustainability, and financial performance, our firm shows up well.”</p>
<p>“By looking at the whole picture, we&#8217;re able to honor not the biggest, but the best,” writes executive editor Amanda Kolson Hurley in the May 2011 edition of the national journal. “The 2011 Architect 50&#8230;shows that [architecture] and [architecture/engineering] firms, large and small, can do well in this economy.”</p>
<p><span id="more-927"></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a>, an intentionally small firm, specializes in modern, sustainable, and regionally appropriate design. Among the firm’s 2010-2011 design awards, its thoroughly <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/13/">“green” Sunday school addition at the Circular Congregational Church in downtown Charleston, SC,</a> received three awards: a national award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture; an AIA NC Honor Award; and an AIA Triangle Honor Award.</p>
<p>Harmon’s firm also received three awards for the <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/current/8/">Walnut Creek Wetland Center</a> over the past year: an AIA NC Merit Award; an Environmental Design award from the City of Raleigh; and a Sir Walter Award for Community Appearance, also from the City of Raleigh.</p>
<p>The only other North Carolina firm to make the 2011 list is Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee of Raleigh and Asheville, at 23rd.</p>
<p>For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
<p>To see the entire Architect 50 list, go to <a href="http://www.architectmagazine.com/">www.architectmagazine.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>Frank Harmon Architect PA Project Designer Accepted at Harvard</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-project-designer-accepted-at-harvard/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-project-designer-accepted-at-harvard/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2011 19:01:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Harvard University]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[modern architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NCSU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NCSU College of Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project designer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=918</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Will Lambeth will enter Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
 
May 11, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Frank Harmon Architect PA is pleased to announce  that project designer Will Lambeth has been accepted into the graduate program in Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
For the past four years, Lambeth has worked in Frank Harmon’s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>Will Lambeth will enter Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.</em></strong></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<div id="attachment_922" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-922" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-project-designer-accepted-at-harvard/attachment/will_sm-2/"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-922" title="Will_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Will_sm1-150x150.jpg" alt="Will Lambeth" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Will Lambeth</p></div>
<p>May 11, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a> is pleased to announce  that project designer Will Lambeth has been accepted into the graduate program in Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.</p>
<p>For the past four years, Lambeth has worked in Frank Harmon’s award-winning firm on a variety of significant projects, including the <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/projects/18/">North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Prairie Ridge Eco-station</a> in Raleigh, the <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/current/3/">North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architect’s new Center for Architecture &amp; Design</a> in downtown Raleigh, and the <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/current/7/">Children&#8217;s Learning Center at the North Carolina Zoological Garden</a> in Asheboro, NC. His most recent project, the <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/current/40/">Lath House at the JC Raulston Arboretum</a>, NC State University, won a merit award from the Triangle section of the AIA in April 2011 and was published in ArchDaily.com, an international online architecture magazine.</p>
<p>A Greensboro, NC native, Will Lambeth joined <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA</a> as an intern architect in May 2009 after working part-time for the firm for two years. He was the 2009 valedictorian graduate of the NC State College of Design, Bachelor of Architecture program, where he received the Faculty Award for design excellence. He studied at the Prague Institute in 2007.</p>
<p>Lambeth’s areas of expertise include digital and physical modeling, graphic design, schematic design, and site analysis.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve learned so much about life and architecture working at FHA,” Lambeth said. “The firm has been like a family to me.&#8221;</p>
<p>“We are very proud of Will and wish him great success at Harvard,” said Frank Harmon, FAIA. “We look forward to seeing his future work.”</p>
<p>For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>Frank Harmon Architect PA Takes Home Two Different Awards in One Night</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-takes-home-two-different-awards-in-one-night/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:20:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[City of Raleigh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Award]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walnut Creek Wetland Center]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=907</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[April 26, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – The evening of April 21, 2011, was a busy one for Raleigh
architect Frank Harmon, FAIA. After collecting a City of Raleigh Environmental Design Award at the Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh, he dashed over to the NC Museum of Art in west Raleigh just in time to collect another [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>April 26, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – The evening of April 21, 2011, was a busy one for Raleigh</p>
<div id="attachment_908" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 274px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-908" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-takes-home-two-different-awards-in-one-night/attachment/wc-front-elevation/"><img class="size-full wp-image-908" title="WC front elevation" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/WC-front-elevation.jpg" alt="Walnut Creek Wetland Center" width="264" height="204" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Walnut Creek Wetland Center</p></div>
<p>architect <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon, FAIA</a>. After collecting a City of Raleigh Environmental Design Award at the Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh, he dashed over to the NC Museum of Art in west Raleigh just in time to collect another award from the Triangle section of the American Institute of Architects’ North Carolina chapter.</p>
<p>On the same night, the state’s Capital City praised Harmon’s Walnut Creek Wetland Center for demonstrating green design concepts and a positive ecological footprint, and AIA Triangle bestowed a Merit Award for overall design excellent on the firm’s Lath House for N.C. State University’s JC Raulston Arboretum.</p>
<p><span id="more-907"></span></p>
<p>“The Walnut Creek Wetland Center was the result of nearly a decade of advocacy by the board of Partners for Environmental Justice,” Harmon said. “It was a privilege to help them build an environmental center that will serve generations of children. As Walnut Creek nurtures children, the Lath House shelters plants, and both aspire to make North Carolina a better place.”</p>
<p>The City of Raleigh created its annual Environmental Awards Program to recognize individuals and organizations that demonstrate “outstanding work in sustainable development and environmental stewardship.”</p>
<p>The Walnut Creek Wetland Center, phase one of a project that is transforming abused wetlands near downtown Raleigh into a natural resource and learning center, won the Green Design (Built Environment) category. The 7000-square-foot building is poised six feet above the wetlands flood plain. All-wood construction utilizes recycled materials wherever possible, and windows welcome the surroundings into the building as they facilitate natural ventilation and illumination. Circulation occurs outside the building across a large porch that projects out into the environment. A geothermal system provides HVAC needs, photovoltaic panels generate electricity, and the metal roof’s deep overhang protects the interior from the summer sun. Rainwater runoff is collected in cisterns and storm water runoff is filtered before it returns to Walnut Creek.</p>
<p>Designed by Harmon’s firm as a <em>pro bono</em> gift to the JC Raulston Arboretum, the Lath</p>
<div id="attachment_909" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-909" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/frank-harmon-architect-pa-takes-home-two-different-awards-in-one-night/attachment/lath-house_sm/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-909" title="Lath House_sm" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Lath-House_sm-300x225.jpg" alt="JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House at NCSU." width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">JC Raulston Arboretum Lath House at NCSU.</p></div>
<p>House is an open-air laboratory for experimental horticultural techniques and methods. Designed as an abstract of a tree spreading its branches to protect the plants, according to Harmon, the structure is comprised of wooden two-by-twos that fulfill the specific light-to-shade ratio young plants need in the spring and shelter the plants as they prepare to be transitioned into larger gardens in the arboretum. The Lath House also provides an accessible community garden for the City of Raleigh, and an educational asset to the State of North Carolina within this nationally acclaimed arboretum.</p>
<p>Both the Walnut Creek Wetland Center and the JC Raulston Arboreum Lath House have already received international attention, appearing on <a href="http://www.archdaily.com">ArchDaily.com</a>, one of the largest architectural websites/ezines in the world.</p>
<p>For more information on both projects and on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>Architect Frank Harmon Debunks Modern Myths about Sustainable Design</title>
		<link>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/architect-frank-harmon-debunks-modern-myths-about-sustainable-design/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/architect-frank-harmon-debunks-modern-myths-about-sustainable-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:13:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kweiss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green technology]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[sustainable design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.frankharmon.com/?p=879</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[These excuses just won’t work any longer. 

 
March 28, 2011 (Raleigh NC) – Just 10 years ago, sustainable design was trumpeted primarily for its earth-saving, conservation attributes. The use of locally available construction materials, for example, reduced less pollution since trucks didn’t have to haul the materials. And the use of recycled materials meant [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>These excuses just won’t work any longer. </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a rel="attachment wp-att-880" href="http://blog.frankharmon.com/press-releases/architect-frank-harmon-debunks-modern-myths-about-sustainable-design/attachment/res-arch-image/"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-880" title="Res.Arch.image" src="http://blog.frankharmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Res.Arch.image-281x300.jpg" alt="Res.Arch.image" width="281" height="300" /></a></em></strong></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>March 28, 2011 (Raleigh NC) – Just 10 years ago, sustainable design was trumpeted primarily for its earth-saving, conservation attributes. The use of locally available construction materials, for example, reduced less pollution since trucks didn’t have to haul the materials. And the use of recycled materials meant fewer trees were felled and other natural resources were conserved.</p>
<p>Today, “green design” has moved into the mainstream as architects’ commercial, institutional and even governmental clients recognize the cost savings they receive when their buildings don’t consume as much energy.</p>
<p>Yet myths about sustainable design still pervade public discourse, giving individuals, homebuilders and corporations “excuses” for ignoring the drum beat for sustainable design.</p>
<p>Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of the award-winning firm <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com">Frank Harmon Architect PA </a>in Raleigh, NC, was beating that drum long before “green design” entered the general lexicon. Now a nationally recognized leader in modern, sustainable and regionally appropriate architecture, he continues to bring the principles of sustainability to bear on each and every project his firm undertakes.</p>
<p>When asked recently what he feels are the most common misconceptions about sustainable design, he offered the following along with the reasons why these myths need to be busted for once and for all.</p>
<p><strong>Myth #1: Sustainable buildings require complicated technology and exotic hardware.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Reality:</strong> “The most important sustainable decision we can make for any building is its orientation on its site: how it faces the sun for natural daylight, opens to the cooling breezes for natural ventilation, and shelters its inhabitants from cold winter winds,” he said. “Site orientation may be ‘low-tech,’ but it is the key principle of sustainability that many people don’t consider when they think that sustainable design is complicated or exotic. Farmers have always practiced sustainable design for their homes and barns without even knowing they were doing. They had to. It was common sense then. It still is today.”</p>
<p><strong>Myth #2: Sustainable buildings require expensive, unusual materials.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Reality:</strong> “Ordinary, locally produced materials, and how we use them without waste, produce sustainable buildings,” Harmon said. “For example, sturdy juniper shingles were a sustainable choice for the cottages built on the Outer Banks. Simple Southern yellow pine is a sustainable choice for a house in Charleston.</p>
<p>“In fact,” he added, “over 75 percent of what makes a building sustainable is contained in its orientation and in its ‘bones – in the materials it is made of. There’s nothing high-tech or unusual about that.”</p>
<p><strong>Myth #3: Sustainable buildings are expensive.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Reality:</strong> “Sustainable, eco-friendly buildings cost the same as ‘ordinary’ buildings if we respect materials and orientation,” Harmon insisted. <em>“</em>And the savings in consumption – which means savings in energy costs &#8212; are well worth the effort. The use of natural ventilation and light provides considerable savings alone. Now imagine never having to pay for electricity or hot water and dramatically lowering your water bill if you included photovoltaic cells on your roof, a solar hot water heater, and low-flow showers and toilets.”</p>
<p><strong>Myth #4: Sustainable buildings are weird.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Reality:</strong> “Far from weird, a sustainable house is light-filled, open to the outdoors, full of fresh air, and made of natural materials,” Harmon said. “Again, some of the buildings our ancestors built, that we cherish today, are sustainable: a low country house, 19th century mill buildings, and old farmhouses. Even Monticello and Mount Vernon are familiar, friendly, and sustaining because they are made of regionally appropriate materials and sited to maximize natural ventilation and day-lighting.”</p>
<p><strong>Myth #5: I can build a sustainable house, office, or school, but it won&#8217;t make any difference.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Reality:</strong> “Nothing could be farther from the truth,” Harmon said. “Forty percent of the energy used in America today is consumed in buildings. That&#8217;s more than the entire transportation system &#8212; cars, airplanes, trucks, etc. – put together. Buildings also consume 30 percent of our fresh water and 25 percent of all our wood products. So if you want to make a difference, buildings are the best place to start. And you&#8217;ll have a more enjoyable place in which to live, work, and learn because of it.”</p>
<p>For more information on why sustainable design matters, visit <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong>About Frank Harmon, FAIA:</strong></p>
<p>Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, is also a Professor in Practice at NC State University and a frequent speaker at AIA and other design conventions and conferences throughout the US and Canada. In 2010, his firm was ranked 13<sup>th</sup> out of the top 50 firms in the nation by <em>Architect </em>magazine and Harmon was included in <em>Residential Architect’s</em> recent “RA 50: The short list of architects we love.” His firm’s work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, journals and ezines on architecture, including ArchDaily.com, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect, and Residential Architect. For more information, go to <a href="http://www.frankharmon.com/">www.frankharmon.com</a>.</p>
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