CAM Groundbreaking Event at 5:00 p.m. TONIGHT (MAY 11)

May 5, 2010

CAM ANNOUNCES GROUNDBREAKING AND MUSEUM COMPLETION PLANS

Public invited to May 11, 2010, Groundbreaking Event at 5:00 p.m.

Raleigh, NC - Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum (“CAM”) will officially break ground at its future home, 409 W. Martin Street, on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at 5:00 p.m. The renovated 20,000 sq. ft. historic warehouse-turned-museum will serve as the only non-collecting museum of contemporary art + design in North Carolina.

Jay Gates, CAM Interim Director, City of Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and Dean Marvin Malecha, NC State College of Design, will lead the ceremony. Predicts Mayor Meeker: “The opening of the Contemporary Art Museum will be key to the revitalization of Raleigh’s Warehouse District. Its location near the City’s Convention Center and planned Union Station Transit Center, in addition to its innovative art and design exhibitions, will make the new museum an important cultural destination for our region.”

The movement of the project from concept to reality has been made possible by many individuals, foundations and a special initiative launched last year to obtain valuable Historic and New Market Tax Credits for the museum’s redevelopment. The tax credit programs will provide a direct subsidy of more than $2 million for CAM, or about one half of the cost of the museum’s redevelopment.

The new museum will house three galleries as well as dedicated educational spaces. Additionally, it will host changing exhibitions and the critically acclaimed Design Camp for high school students, while expanding the existing, community-wide adult and youth art and design programming.

News Facts:

• The Contemporary Art Museum was established in 1983 in Raleigh as the City Gallery of Contemporary Art.

• In 2006, the museum merged with the NC State University College of Design, becoming an extension of the College’s “Art and Design in the Community” Initiative. The merger expands the College’s K-12 outreach and introduces students and the larger community to a broad range of new creative and learning opportunities.

• CAM is a non-collecting museum of contemporary art and design. Its exhibitions reflect the leading edge of visual arts and design practice, while its educational programs offer a unique perspective on the role of contemporary art and design in our everyday lives.

• The museum is eligible for Historic and New Market tax credits based on the historic nature of the warehouse building being rebuilt and on the demographics of the census tract in Raleigh where CAM is located. The same programs have been used in North Carolina recently at the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro and at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham.

• The architectural team of Clearscapes and Pugh + Scarpa has overseen the design of the new museum. Raleigh-based Clearscapes is well known for its local projects, including the historically sensitive Exploris Museum, the new Raleigh Convention Center, and the mixed-used revitalization of Pine State Creamery. The 2010 American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Firm Award winner, Pugh + Scarpa has offices in Santa Monica, CA, and Charlotte, NC.

• For more information, please visit the CAM Website: http://www.cam.ncsu.edu

NCSU/UNC students win Urban Land Institute competition

Yesterday we received the news that the team comprised of NCSU/UNC students did in fact win the Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines competition. Not only does that mean big things for the students -- $50,000 and great portfolio material, but it's also a big deal for both institutions as well. A huge congratulations to those guys.

Say it ain't so Raleigh.....

Tuesday night I got the news... It's funny how the closing of a small upstairs restaurant can have such an effect on so many, but damn... it did. The Rockford was the scene for many of my most cherished memories over the past 15 years and it's hard to believe that it's really gone. It's the little things in life that truly make a difference and the Rockford was full of those. Whether it was the bartender who went out of her way to make a drink "right" for the pain-in-the-ass customer, the waitress who was seemingly always in a bad mood but yet somehow profoundly human, the "specials" menu dedicated to keeping music lovers entertained, or just the simple comfort of a meatloaf sandwich... The Rockford always just seemed right somehow and made me feel at home. I think an anonymous letter taped to the door sums it up best...

"Thanks for the good times, food, drinks, and friendship..."

Through the years we've lost our share of great places; the original Humble Pie, Vin & The Sting Ray to name a few. Hopefully the reopening of Kings will help bring us back to where we need to be. As things stand now though, Raleigh just got a lot less cool.

Vollis Simpson featured in the NY Times

Local Folk Art legend Vollis Simpson featured in the New York Times

Link

NCSU/UNC Team Finalists for Gerald D. Hines Student Competition

Last Week it was officially announced that a joint-team made up of NCSU Architecture/Landscape Architecture and UNC City and Regional Planning graduate students has been named one of four finalists in the Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines Student Competition. This is the NCSU/UNC's first time entering and the fact that they have placed as a finalist is most certainly a very big deal. The 3 other finalist teams are from Harvard, UPENN, and the University of Maryland. Teams are now in the process of completing a second design problem which will ultimately decide the winner.

NCSU/UNC Team:

Maria Papiez, Master of Architecture

Daria Khramtsova, Master of City and Regional Planning

Rebecca Myers, Master of Landscape Architecture

Jeff Pleshek, Master of Architecture

Matt Tomasulo, Master of Landscape Architecture

LINK

Update regarding AIANC Center for Architecture and Design

Ever since Frank Harmon won the competition for the AIANC Center for Architecture and Design in January 2008, not much had been made public about how the project was progressing. Even some of our sources close to the project seemed skeptical that the project would be built soon. Given the current state of the field and economy in general, it would have been understandable if the AIA had decided to put the project on hold. It might not have sent a positive message to its members, but understandable nevertheless.

Fortunately for us, that's not the case. Two weeks ago, in the annual Harwell Hamilton Harris Lecture, Frank Harmon showed images of the project (located on the corner of Peace and Wilmington at the end of Raleigh's government mall) after several years of design development with a large committee of designers. He went on to describe his "healthy urbanism" project in careful detail, including the original design concept, developments since the competition and a fairly thorough discussion of the building's intended purpose and sustainable features. He announced furthermore, that construction by Clancy & Theys should begin this May and that the building should be completed within 10 months.

We here at Raleigh Art, Architecture and Urbanism are excited to hear that this project is on track to be built so soon. More information has been released: a fairly thorough project booklet on AIA NC's website including plans, sections, materials, sustainable systems, salient diagrams, and cost estimates, and more information from WUNC's the State of Things (follow the link to listen to the audio) last Friday. Frank, Along with Scott Cutler of Clancy & Theys joined Laura Leslie to talk about the project's status.

We applaud AIA NC for pushing this project forward despite tough economic times, setting an example of responsible design not only in the Triangle or the State, but nationally as well. According to the audio North Carolina AIA will be the first chapter to design and construct their own building. If that's true, (we haven't had the chance to verify this so don't hold us to it), what does that say about the AIA itself? How could such a large professional body, which specializes in designing buildings, not have ever designed their own headquarters? This project has the opportunity to not only be a model for sustainable design, but also a center for outreach. All signs seem to point to the fact it will be a place for people to visit, hold activities and meetings, and most of all to open minds about the impact design has on our day to day lives and how truly important good design can be for our future.

NCSU Graduate wins Thomas Jefferson Award

Curtis W. Fentress, FAIA, RIBA, is the Principal in Charge of Design and Co-Founder of Fentress Architects based in Denver, CO in 1980. He is also a North Carolina native and a graduate of NCSU's School of Architecture. Fentress continues to maintain ties with the COD by interviewing students each spring for potential jobs as well as lecturing frequently..

Image www.otto-otto.com

Fentress is well known for some of his more iconic designs including the Denver International Airport and the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA. His firm has also remained active locally by acting as lead designers on two large projects in the triangle: RDU Terminal 2 and Nature Research Center in Downtown Raleigh.

Fentress was recently recognized by the American Institute of Architects with the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award. This award has only been awarded in the private sector architect category 8 times in 19 years according to the Denver Post.

Congratulations to Mr. Fentress for winning this high honor in recognition of your hard work.