Aug 05, 2011
National Register of Historic Places - John G. and Binford Carr House
Statement of Significance: The John G. and Binford Carr House, constructed in the Hope Valley subdivision of Durham in 1958 from a design by local architect Kenneth Scott, is a well-preserved modern one-story residence of brick, steel, and glass that is one of Durham's notable mid-century modern landmarks. The Carr House meets Criterion C for its local architectural significance as an important, largely, intact example of a small group of striking and well-preserved 1950s modern residences located in Durham that reflect the influence of the School of Design, established at North Carolina State University in Raleigh in 1948 under dean Henry Kamphoefner. The progressive faculty designed a number of buildings in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill area, especially houses for themselves and other faculty members, as well as collaborating with students on architectural projects. Kenneth McCoy Scott belonged to the first class of graduates who disseminated the faculty's modern aesthetic, characterized by the relation of the building to site, the flowing organization of space, and the interrelationship of interior space with the outdoors. The Carr House, one of Scott's finest designs, exemplifies this aesthetic. The house features an embedded placement on the upper end of a large sloping lot that allows a sweeping vista through side and rear glazed walls to the woods and golf course beyond; a private Japanese-inspired courtyard; and a large living room with glass walls that open to a wraparound deck cantilevered on steel beams over the woods. Scott's modernism, like that of his faculty mentors, combined Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian-period interest in orientation to site and economical construction with the International Style use of steel and glass to create cantilevered horizontal and transparent vertical surfaces. The period of significance, 1958, is the year that the house was constructed. The Carr House is a relatively intact example of 1950s modernism in Durham.
National Register of Historic Places - John G. and Binford Carr House
Statement of Significance: The John G. and Binford Carr House, constructed in the Hope Valley subdivision of Durham in 1958 from a design by local architect Kenneth Scott, is a well-preserved modern one-story residence of brick, steel, and glass that is one of Durham's notable mid-century modern landmarks. The Carr House meets Criterion C for its local architectural significance as an important, largely, intact example of a small group of striking and well-preserved 1950s modern residences located in Durham that reflect the influence of the School of Design, established at North Carolina State University in Raleigh in 1948 under dean Henry Kamphoefner. The progressive faculty designed a number of buildings in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill area, especially houses for themselves and other faculty members, as well as collaborating with students on architectural projects. Kenneth McCoy Scott belonged to the first class of graduates who disseminated the faculty's modern aesthetic, characterized by the relation of the building to site, the flowing organization of space, and the interrelationship of interior space with the outdoors. The Carr House, one of Scott's finest designs, exemplifies this aesthetic. The house features an embedded placement on the upper end of a large sloping lot that allows a sweeping vista through side and rear glazed walls to the woods and golf course beyond; a private Japanese-inspired courtyard; and a large living room with glass walls that open to a wraparound deck cantilevered on steel beams over the woods. Scott's modernism, like that of his faculty mentors, combined Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian-period interest in orientation to site and economical construction with the International Style use of steel and glass to create cantilevered horizontal and transparent vertical surfaces. The period of significance, 1958, is the year that the house was constructed. The Carr House is a relatively intact example of 1950s modernism in Durham.
Aug 05, 2011
Posted Date
Aug 28, 2023
Historical Record Date
Aug 05, 2011
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
