Excited to see great progress in Geenex's vision to bring solar power to North Carolina. Check out their new video which captures the development of the solar array and previews the future Visitor Education Center:

https://vimeo.com/105075667

Password: solar

Check out this letter from Myrick Howard about the style of my personal home (under construction) at 516 Euclid St. The discussion of style is useful looking backwards as a way to understand trends and almost always counterproductive as a tool to understand design that is happening now. In the case of our house controversy and in looking a new building in Oakwood, the discussion of style has been distracting from the actual important design issues.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/08/28/4103432_myrick-howard-house-not-modernist.html?rh=1

Geenex Corporation of Germany is developing a 30 Megawatt solar farm located in Halifax County in partnership with Halifax County and ET Corporation. Louis Cherry Architecture has designed the Solar Center for the facility. The Solar Center will provide space for education, exhibits, offices and events all centered on solar technology and sustainability. The Solar Center will open in Spring 2015. The Project kick-off was held in Roanoke Rapids on August 13, 2014.

Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen Wins James Beard Award - News and Observer

This article just appeared in Vanity Fair. It is unbelievable that our desire to build a modest house in Oakwood has created such a heated controversy on a national stage. I think it goes to the heart of the people's fear of change. Certainly some change can be destructive and should be resisted. This design is sympathetic to the character of Oakwood and illustrates how a contemporary design can be compatible with a historic fabric.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/04/oakwood-teardown-historic-district

Glad to see Joule mentioned in the recent write-up "36 Hours in Raleigh, N.C." by the New York Times.

"But the casual cafe Joule Coffee, which opened in September, may be her finest yet.The cheerful interior is punctuated with jolts of color from vermilion chairs and benches, while glassed-in alcoves flanking the entrance provide quiet nooks in which to peruse the Sunday paper."

The construction of a new personal home in the historic district of Oakwood has created much controversy in the neighborhood and a legal challenge to the construction of the home. I post this letter written by Myrick Howard to give a context of the situation and some of the issues present in building a contemporary design in an historic district.

North Carolina Modernist Houses recently featured Louis Cherry as a part of its ongoing series, "What I've Learned -- Insights on Life and Architecture from the North Carolina Design Community"

(February 2014)

Construction is underway on a new house that will be the home of Louis Cherry and Marsha Gordon as well as the studio for Louis Cherry Architecture. The design was approved by the Raleigh Historic Development Commission in September. The project was controversial because it will be the first modern home built in the historic district of Oakwood, Raleigh’s oldest neighborhood. The house was designed in accordance with the guidelines that have been established for construction within a historic district in Raleigh and carefully relates to the historic context in scale, shape and relation to the street.

Joule Coffee has opened recently in downtown Raleigh. This is Ashley Christiansen's latest venture and is taking the craft of coffee to its highest level. Every aspect of the coffee drinks are exacting from the temperature of water in the pour over drip coffee to the perfect shot of espresso. I visited many of the nation's top coffee establishments researching the technology and culture of coffee shops. The design of Joule is a riff on a workshop environment, expressing the energy (Joule is a unit of measure of applied energy) of a shop where things are made precisely.