Triangle Modernist Houses Announces The 2013 George Matsumoto Prize For Modernist Houses

    RALEIGH, NC, May 23, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- George Smart, Executive Director of Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH), has announced the 2013 George Matsumoto Prize to recognize excellence in recent single-family Modernist residential design in North Carolina. Submissions are being accepted starting today.

Now in its second year, the Prize is named for George Matsumoto, FAIA, a founding member of the NC State University School of Design faculty who is well known for the mid-century Modernist houses he designed in North Carolina.

The Matsumoto Prize is a unique design awards program. Unlike other programs, the Prize offers monetary rewards ($6000 total), online public voting along with a blue-ribbon professional jury, and this program focuses on the houses submitted rather than those who designed them: The houses, built since January 1, 2007, must be in North Carolina but the designers can be from anywhere and they do not have to be licensed architects or members of the American Institute of Architects. (In North Carolina, you do not have to be a licensed architect to design a private residence.)

The Matsumoto Prize is also transparent. All information submitted, including the designer's name, will be published online and available to the jurors and the public. The public vote counts for one-sixth of the jury decision for the final award winners. The houses with the highest number of public votes will also receive special "People's Choice" recognition. Public voting will begin on www.trianglemodernisthouses.com in early July and end July 20th.

Again this year, George Matsumoto will serve as the jury's Honorary Chair. Also returning to the jury are: Frank Harmon, FAIA, (Chair) of Frank Harmon Architect PA, Raleigh; Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, of Marlon Blackwell Architect, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Tom Kundig, FAIA, of Olson Kundig Architects, Seattle, Washington; and Larry Scarpa, FAIA, of Brooks + Scarpa Architects, Los Angeles, California.

Triangle Modernist Houses is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. According to George Smart, the objectives for the Matsumoto Prize are "to expand the public's awareness about the great inventory of North Carolina Modernist houses, to showcase the skills of the North Carolina residential design community, and to inform the public that great design can be well within a homebuyer's reach."

"We hope these entries demonstrate to the public that Modernist design is affordable, efficient, sustainable, and most importantly, a house a family will love decades," he added. "We also want potential homeowners to realize that, by using an architect or designer, they can have a great home for the same budget as an ordinary house."

Competition rules, submission procedures, and deadlines are available online at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/prize2013. To see last year's submissions and winners: http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/prize.htm.

Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH) is a 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 and dedicated to restoring and growing modernist residential architecture in the Triangle region. 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.

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