The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, AIA Asheville and the UNCA Office of Cultural & Special Events announce…

A Sustainable Evening – Thursday, October 26th

at the Broadway Arts Building, 49 Broadway in downtown Asheville
$12 admission / $6 students w/ID

Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Silent Auction (to benefit BMCM+AC)
Live Music with the Vollie McKenzie Trio (traditional swing/jazz)
Hors d’oeuvres
Cash Bar

At 8:00 p.m. Award-Winning Architect Frank Harmon, FAIA will speak about The Bauhaus + The Farmhouse: Reflections on the Modern Movement in the South

“I like to imagine that inside every cathedral is a shed, and inside every shed is a cathedral…”—Frank Harmon, FAIA

The term “sustainability” is rapidly moving to the forefront of discussions about architecture, design and building practices. Blending the concepts of beauty, functionality, affordability, and sustainability becomes the task of the architect. Raleigh-based architect Frank Harmon has embraced this challenge for decades and has been recognized for his unique approach to problem solving. Since his firm was founded in 1985, they have completed over 200 architectural projects ranging in size from a tiny studio for an artist in Durham (which received four design awards) to the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation’s 70,000-square-foot headquarters in Raleigh (another award-winner). Frank Harmon’s firm was selected by Residential Architect Magazine as the Top Firm of the Year in 2005/2006. In 2003 the same magazine selected one of his projects as House of the Year.

Harmon’s philosophical approach to architecture is remarkable. He writes, “…we like to think that our work has both a soul and a conscience. The ‘soul’ is found in the spirit of the design and the craft of construction. The ‘conscience’ is represented by the manner in which our buildings embody a positive union between natural and built environment, and demonstrate a rigorous commitment to sustainable architecture. Essential to our design ethic is a commitment to sustainable architecture and a belief that architecture should make a didactic as well as physical contribution to the community. We want to leave to future generations a better environment than we received. We are committed to ensuring that both exterior and interior building systems and materials are non-toxic to the environment. We go to great lengths to ensure that our buildings are energy-efficient and environmentally conservative, and that the materials and products used in their construction contribute to ecological restoration. Hand-in-hand with these environmental ideals, we believe in using materials responsive to particular climates and settings, creating a comfortable, tactile, and friendly sense of place.”

Harmon’s list of completed projects in Western North Carolina includes the new iron studio at Penland School of Crafts, and will soon include the new Crafts Campus at UNCA Asheville. This building will house the school's Wood, Ceramics, Metal, and Glass Arts majors. The state-of-the-art facility will be designed in accordance with green or sustainable design practices to underscore the university's stated commitment to sustainability and conservation of natural resources. This project will serve as a canvas on which to build a structure that honors and celebrates the beauty of the North Carolina mountains in general and the UNCA campus in particular. The site -- an old Buncombe County Landfill - will also serve as a laboratory for ecological site planning and renewable energy evaluation and demonstration.

For more information about Frank Harmon go to www.frankharmon.com.

This evening event will take place at the Broadway Arts Building, 49 Broadway in downtown Asheville. Advance tickets are available from the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and AIA Asheville. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for live music by the Vollie McKenzie Trio, hors d’oeurves, a cash bar, and opportunities to bid on the silent auction which will benefit the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.

For more information please call 828-350-8484.