House Tour: "Modernism in Duke Forest" To Take Place in September

Triangle Modernist Houses, Preservation Durham present a six-house tour.

August 14, 2012 (Durham, NC) -- Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) and Preservation Durham have announced “Modernism In Duke Forest,” a tour of six modernist houses in Durham’s Duke Forest neighborhood, to be held on Saturday, September 15, from 1-4 p.m.

Duke University originally developed the Duke Forest neighborhood, just south of Duke University’s campus, faculty and staff. Many of the homes are still owned by their original occupants.

Architecturally, the Duke Forest is an eclectic mix of styles, including mid-century modernist houses. In fact, there are more mid-century modern homes in Duke Forest than anywhere else in Durham, according to local realtors.

Triangle Modernist Houses, an award-winning non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting modernist residential design, has teamed up with Preservation Durham, a non-profit organization that promotes the restoration of historic homes and commercial properties, to present the September tour.

Houses on the tour are:

1.    The Knight house/Duke University President’s House designed by Alden Dow.

2.    The Kaufman House designed by Brian Shawcroft, who will be on hand to answer questions.

3.    The Schanberg House designed by Jon Condoret. Condoret’s daughter, architect Audie Schechter, will be there to answer questions.

4.    The Crovitz House designed by Frank DePasquale.

5.    The Obrist House designed by Walter Obrist.

6.    The Huttemeier /Benveniste House designed by Keith Brown.

The tour will start at the Judea Reform Congregation parking lot at 1933 West Cornwallis Road, Durham, where free parking will be available. From there, shuttle buses will run to the houses every 10 minutes throughout the afternoon. Tour-goers may choose to bike or walk to the houses from the parking lot, but automobile traffic is seriously discouraged.

Advance tickets are $19.95 per person and are available online only at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/tour, where more details about the tour can be found. Day-of tickets, if available, are $25. Children carried or in strollers are free.

“Best of all, for those new to Preservation Durham, each ticket comes with a free full year membership in Preservation Durham,” noted George Smart, founder and director of Triangle Modernist Houses.

Proceeds from ticket sales benefit both Preservation Durham and Triangle Modernist Houses.  “Modernism in Duke Forest “ is also part of the DOCOMOMO 2012 Fall Tour Day Network.

For more information on Triangle Modernist Houses, visit www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. For more information on Preservation Durham, go to preservationdurham.org.

About Triangle Modernist Houses:

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 to restoring and growing modernist architecture in the Triangle. The award-winning website, now the largest educational and historical archive for modernist residential design in America, continues to catalog, preserve, and advocate for North Carolina modernism.  TMH also hosts popular modernist house tours several times a year, giving the public access to the Triangle's most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours raise awareness and help preserve these "livable works of art" for future generations. Visit the website at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com. TMH also has an active community on Facebook.