Dec 04, 2004
National Register of Historic Places - George Poland House
Statement of Significance: The George Poland House is a one-story, rectangular, flat-roofed Modernist residence designed by North Carolina State College School of Design faculty member George Matsumoto in 1956. Both the interior and exterior of the house incorporate low-cost and mass-produced materials such as plywood and asbestos sheets and cork tiles to great aesthetic effect. Matsumoto's design synthesizes concepts from the Modernist architecture movement prevalent at mid-twentieth century in both Europe and America. Matsumoto was particularly influenced by the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the Bauhaus School. The house is one of four surviving examples in the Raleigh area of the "box-on- basement" form of Matsumoto's highly stylized, residential design. The house is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under National Register Criterion C as an intact example of a regionally important Modernist architect's body of work. The house compares favorably with other surviving Matsumoto-designed houses in the Raleigh area and retains a high degree of design, feeling, workmanship, and materials. The original site of the Poland House was compromised by out-of-control development. Although not on its original site, the house's current location is similar in topography and setting. Therefore, the house meets Criterion Consideration B for moved buildings of architectural significance that retain their design values and physical integrity. Matsumoto's residential designs placed particular importance on the relationship of the dwelling to its setting. The current placement and setting of the George Poland House continue this crucial relationship between the house and site, and conveys the architect's intent and design philosophy. The house also meets Criterion Consideration G that acknowledges the significance of properties less than fifty years of age. The house embodies the tenets of the revolutionary mid-twentieth century Modern design movement, which was international in scope. The house is one of four dwellings of this particular type built in Raleigh. It retains excellent physical integrity and compares most favorably with the other three Matsumoto-designed "box-on-basement" houses in the Raleigh area. The house is discussed in the National Register multiple property documentation form (MPDF), "Early Modern Architecture in Raleigh Associated with the Faculty of the North Carolina State University School of Design, Raleigh, North Carolina," (1994). The form establishes historic contexts for Modern architecture in Raleigh from 1938 through 1972, and for the North Carolina State College School of Design's influence on the local architectural landscape. The essay frames Raleigh's Modernist works, and thus permits comparisons among houses of the style and period. The multiple property form also establishes the historical importance of the movement and its surviving examples, despite the fact that many of these properties were constructed less than fifty years ago. Two of Matsumoto’s dwellings were listed in the National Register when they were less than fifty years of age: the Matsumoto House and the Ritcher House. The Matsumoto House is an example of the box-on-basement type. The Poland House cannot be nominated under the MPDF now that it has been relocated to Durham County.
National Register of Historic Places - George Poland House
Statement of Significance: The George Poland House is a one-story, rectangular, flat-roofed Modernist residence designed by North Carolina State College School of Design faculty member George Matsumoto in 1956. Both the interior and exterior of the house incorporate low-cost and mass-produced materials such as plywood and asbestos sheets and cork tiles to great aesthetic effect. Matsumoto's design synthesizes concepts from the Modernist architecture movement prevalent at mid-twentieth century in both Europe and America. Matsumoto was particularly influenced by the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the Bauhaus School. The house is one of four surviving examples in the Raleigh area of the "box-on- basement" form of Matsumoto's highly stylized, residential design. The house is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under National Register Criterion C as an intact example of a regionally important Modernist architect's body of work. The house compares favorably with other surviving Matsumoto-designed houses in the Raleigh area and retains a high degree of design, feeling, workmanship, and materials. The original site of the Poland House was compromised by out-of-control development. Although not on its original site, the house's current location is similar in topography and setting. Therefore, the house meets Criterion Consideration B for moved buildings of architectural significance that retain their design values and physical integrity. Matsumoto's residential designs placed particular importance on the relationship of the dwelling to its setting. The current placement and setting of the George Poland House continue this crucial relationship between the house and site, and conveys the architect's intent and design philosophy. The house also meets Criterion Consideration G that acknowledges the significance of properties less than fifty years of age. The house embodies the tenets of the revolutionary mid-twentieth century Modern design movement, which was international in scope. The house is one of four dwellings of this particular type built in Raleigh. It retains excellent physical integrity and compares most favorably with the other three Matsumoto-designed "box-on-basement" houses in the Raleigh area. The house is discussed in the National Register multiple property documentation form (MPDF), "Early Modern Architecture in Raleigh Associated with the Faculty of the North Carolina State University School of Design, Raleigh, North Carolina," (1994). The form establishes historic contexts for Modern architecture in Raleigh from 1938 through 1972, and for the North Carolina State College School of Design's influence on the local architectural landscape. The essay frames Raleigh's Modernist works, and thus permits comparisons among houses of the style and period. The multiple property form also establishes the historical importance of the movement and its surviving examples, despite the fact that many of these properties were constructed less than fifty years ago. Two of Matsumoto’s dwellings were listed in the National Register when they were less than fifty years of age: the Matsumoto House and the Ritcher House. The Matsumoto House is an example of the box-on-basement type. The Poland House cannot be nominated under the MPDF now that it has been relocated to Durham County.
Dec 04, 2004
Posted Date
Aug 29, 2023
Historical Record Date
Dec 04, 2004
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
