Local Limelight: George Smart of NCModernist
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For 18 years now, George Smart, a Raleigh native and son of an architect, has made it his mission to preserve as much of the modernist architecture hidden throughout the Triangle's neighborhoods as he can.
Why it matters: Thanks to the founding of N.C. State's architecture school in the 1940s, the Triangle of the mid-20th century had a significant concentration of pioneering architects and modernist homes they helped design.
- But many of those historically significant structures are now vulnerable due to age and development pressures, Smart said.
Zoom in: That's why he helped found NCModernist and USModernist, Durham-based nonprofits that seek to keep these structures from falling into disrepair or being demolished entirely.
- It also seeks to celebrate the local architects who continue to push innovative designs across the region.
- Go deeper: Some of the Triangle's best modernist buildings, according to Smart
What's next: NCModernist will host its Moon Over Modernism benefit party on Oct. 11 to celebrate 18 years of protecting modernist architecture across the Triangle.
We talked with Smart for our latest Local Limelight conversation. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
📱 First read in the morning? After I get up and grind some coffee and make some toast from Ninth Street Bakery, I hit my email and see if there is anything urgent.
🍣 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Currently, Zest, a sushi and small plates restaurant in downtown Cary.
- Another recent discovery is A Little Gelato, located in the back of a strip mall in south Durham.
🏡 Favorite building in the Triangle? It's one that is no longer with us. The Eduardo Catalano House in Raleigh. It was built in 1954 by an N.C. State architect from Argentina, but was torn down in 2001.
🚃 What do you think the Triangle is missing? A light rail from downtown Raleigh to the airport. We should've had it 25 years ago.
📖 Last great book you read? "Tom Kundig: Complete Houses." It's all the houses completed by the Seattle architect Tom Kundig.
✍️ Favorite architect? Bjarke Ingels from Denmark. He has been able to really transform the way a lot of buildings are conceived and how they're used. His most wildly successful example of this is where he helped design an artificial ski slope atop a waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen.
🏙️ Favorite long weekend spot? New York City or Palm Springs.
🎧 Go-to podcast? Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.
🧩 What's something you're looking forward to? I am part of a team that does escape rooms. We have done every room in the Triangle and have gone as far as New York to try new ones.
- Our favorite escape rooms in the Triangle are Escape on Purpose in Durham and The Tower Escapes in Raleigh.
📚 What is your favorite building built recently in the Triangle? The masterpiece that most Raleigh citizens have never set foot in is the Jim Hunt Library on N.C. State's Centennial Campus.