What is Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH)?  TMH is the website for Triangle Modernist Archive, Inc., a North Carolina nonprofit organization committed to documenting, preserving, and promoting modernist architecture. 

TMH is an award-winning educational archive of hundreds of cool Triangle houses and their architects to remember and revive the area's legacy of great architecture. We host popular modernist house tours, movies, and trips, giving the public access to the most exciting residential architecture, past and present.  Our events raise awareness, connect people with great design, and help preserve these exceptional "works of art" for future generations. 

What is a modernist house? Modernist design is characterized by features such as combining traditionally separate common areas (like the living room and the dining room, for example), open interior floor plans with vaulted ceilings, large and numerous windows, flat or low pitched roofs, long exposed beams, extensive use of glass to bring in natural light, and aesthetic geometric forms.  See here for an excellent review of modernist types.

How many modernist houses are there in the Triangle?  An entirely unscientific estimate is about 700, not many for a metropolitan area which will reach two million in a few years.  Modernist design is rare in any housing market.  However, we have more than anywhere else in the United States except for Los Angeles and Chicago.  New Canaan CT is number four.

Why aren't modernist houses more popular?  Modernist houses truly rock, if you are into this kind of thing.  Sadly, most people aren't.  The staggering failure of modernist design to catch on with homebuyers is disappointing for its few but loyal admirers.  The general public tends to think modernist homes are cool but consistently buy more traditional designs.  Except in rare cases, like Arapahoe Acres or Glenbrook Valley, unconventional houses are considered slightly treasonous anomalies to the conservative homeowners association mindset.  What is "brilliant" to an architecturally-inclined person is often unsettling to the neighbors.  Maintenance can be a problem, too.  The bolder the design, the more likely a house will have water or structural damage over time.  The good news is that materials science has finally caught up with modernist design, so most new houses don't have these problems.  And, like other works of art, these houses tend to be more expensive than average.

Architecture critic Colin Rowe once said that "modern architecture’s fatal flaw is when architects "stipulate an intrinsic connection between the form of a building and the condition of society."  In other words, modern design's effect on social change can, and often is, overestimated by the profession (and its fans).

As former Modernist homeowner Lynda Calabrese of Charlotte said, "People want to be safe and they want to be like everyone else. That's why everyone shops at The Gap.  Realtors don't even like to use the word 'contemporary' in their advertisements. It's like the curse."

Who lives in modernist houses? Modernist houses are generally more works of art than construction, and the general public has little taste for living inside art.  However, artists, academics, architects, children of architects, and all their patient spouses typically love to live inside art. 

Are modernist houses endangered?  Yes, especially those built in the 1950's and 1960's.  Their locations, often on prime real estate inside cities, are worth much more than the houses, making demolition and development an attractive option.  For example, see the sad fate of the extraordinary Catalano house, Raleigh's internationally known landmark.  By networking current owners and providing the public detailed information, histories and maps, we help endangered houses be purchased or otherwise preserved.