Keynotes by Founder George Smart

Mayberry Modernism
North Carolina's Modernist Legacy

What's North Carolina's greatest secret?  We have the third most Modernist houses than anywhere in the country. 

George Smart’s discovery of the Triangle’s large number of “livable works of art” in 2007 led him to start North Carolina Modernist houses, the largest open digital archive of Modernist residential architecture and architects in the nation.

During this exciting talk, you'll visually explore some of the state's Modernist gems, many still glorious, some endangered, and some destroyed forever. 

Since 2010, George Smart has taken Mayberry Modernism on the road to dozens of AIA NC sections, preservation organizations, realtor associations, and other groups across the state.  Mayberry Modernism is available for up to 75 minutes in length, including time for questions and answers.  To book Mayberry Modernism, contact Kim Weiss at 919.272.8615.

Learning Objectives

• Participants learn how thousands of significant Modernist houses were documented and made available to the public online.

• Participants will be able to identify the beginnings of North Carolina residential Modernist design as part of the larger national movement.

• Participants learn key differences between Modernist and contemporary architecture.

• Participants learn why North Carolina is the third largest concentration of Modernist houses in the country.

• Participants learn the key architects and influencers in  North Carolina Modernism. 

• Participants gain knowledge of 60 years of North Carolina award-winning residences and assess their own preferences against precedent. 

• Participants learn marketing methods to preserve mid-century Modernist houses through preservation, occupancy, and sustainable development strategies.

• Participants discover how documenting, preserving, and promoting residential Modernist design benefits the architecture and construction industries.

• Participants learn key differences between selling a traditional house and selling a Modernist house.

• Participant gain free access to a digital archive of over 15,000 photos of over 4,100 Modernist houses, along with profiles on over 250 architects.

• Participants learn how NCMH became the country's largest open digital archive for Modernist houses and a leader in saving mid-century Modernist houses from destruction.

About George Smart

George Smart grew up in Triangle architecture. His dad was a Raleigh architect for over 40 years who, like many in his generation, was inspired by the exciting designs of Frank Lloyd Wright's and others in Modernist movement.  George's mom Ann Seltman Smart was a radio personality on WPTF and made a documentary on architecture in the 1960's that's still available on YouTube. 

Yet, as a management consultant and executive coach, George showed no interest whatsoever in architecture until 2007.  "I was Googling for modern houses one night and it was like that scene from Alien," jokes Smart.  "Something very powerful exploded from my DNA!  One search led to another, then to a list, then to a website, then to tours, then trips, then dinners, then movies, then happy hours.  NCMH is largest online open archive in America for residential Modernist architecture."

George Smart and NCMH have been honored with historic preservation awards from the City of Raleigh, Preservation North Carolina, the Vernacular Architecture Foundation, Preservation Durham, Capital Area Preservation, AIA Triangle, AIA North Carolina, Historic Charlotte, and Preservation Chapel Hill.  He was the News and Observer Tar Heel of the Week in June 2012.

North Carolina's most passionate advocate for Modernist architecture, George Smart facilitates the public's discovery of these "livable sculptures" through presentations around the state.  His knowledge of North Carolina modernism combined with the innovative use of technology for preservation has quickly established a national reputation for research and advocacy.