Modern architecture in NC

When I moved to North Carolina with my husband several years ago, we were stationed at a tiny base that probably isnʻt very familiar to most people: Fort Bragg. Most military towns are pretty similar in terms of offering any aspect of a cultural oasis, so I spent my down time looking at a lot of beige, low level buildings. As the years passed, I began to itch for the likes of Raleigh or Durham, where each building was more than 50 feet taller than the building next to it.

After we left the military and moved to Raleigh, I began noticing an interesting trend that is difficult to find in small towns like Fayetteville or Sanford. The architecture is very modern, and it isnʻt meant to be ironic or over the top. Itʻs very beautiful, and I want to find more of it.

Though there are debates about buildings being torn down for this reason or that, I wonʻt get into because 1. Iʻm not nearly educated enough to offer any type of opinion on the matter, and 2. My optimism is rooting for some of these buildings sticking around.

Since Iʻm originally from Seattle, itʻs easy for me to have a bias toward attractive and interesting architecture. I just canʻt help it, but I am curious to find out where all this pretty architecture has been going and when theyʻll build more of it. Of course, there are great places like the CAM opening in April in the Warehouse District and the lovely lofts in Durham that used to be tobacco mills.

Iʻm thrilled to find such great modern design all over these fine cities and finding they arenʻt just limited to one or two. It might be interesting to see a landmark of some kind to represent either the three cities or even the capital city. (The capital building doesnʻt count.)

What are your thoughts on the architecture in these cities? Do you prefer tall skyscraper buildings or lower level buildings with quirky design aspects?

No related posts.