North Carolina native Fredrick Stewart studied at the NCSU School of Design and Boston Architectural Center. Prior to starting his own practice in 1987, he worked for architects and interior designers in San Diego, Boston, New York and Raleigh. In 2000, he moved Fredrick Stewart Architecture from Raleigh to a farm in Orange County, NC. The move has coincided with a growing interest in sustainable and contemporary design solutions for homes, additions, renovations, landscapes and gardens. His work has been recognized in:
2010 Hillsborough Historic District Commission Preservation Award, Excellence in Compatible Design
-- Forrest House, The Nathaniel Rochester House. From The Chapel Hill Herald: "The commission noted that Stewart consistently has brought forward proposals which achieve the intent of the design guidelines for the Historic District. He designs functional contemporary additions that are compatible with their historic structures and the district's setting."
AIA Guide Map to 20th Century Architecture in Raleigh*, 1998 (Witt House) pg 2, lower left, ; pg. 1
*“...engaging but virtually unclassifiable..." “Vernacular and industrial elements have been combined with considerable imagination.”
2008 Hillsborough Preservation Award for Best Residential Renovation, (Forrest House)
Southern Living, 1993 (Own garden)
Spectator Magazine (Raleigh), 1994 (Green Hill)
North Carolina Architecture (cover), Summer 1995 (Witt Residence)
The News & Observer (Raleigh), 1996 (Green Hill)
Custom Home Magazine, May/June 1996 (Witt Residence)
Specialty Food Magazine, November/December 2003 (A Southern Season)
Metro Magazine, February 2004 (A Southern Season)
Metro Magazine, 2005 (Horton Guest House)
"What I've learned": Fredrick Stewart, from ncmodernist.org, 2009
1. Architecture is design, not art. As designer, the architect must stick to problem-solving. The pursuit of art must be saved for one’s own dreams.
2. The most important ingredient of good architecture is figuring out what the problem (program) is. The better and more accurately the program is defined and the more it remains the guide, the better the building.
3. A well-defined program results from combining the things a client requires, the things the site requires and the things the architect knows a good building must possess. No one of these should be allowed to dominate the other two.
4. Identifying and developing a big idea from the program brings logic to the process and substance to the result.
5. The process of good design is not linear. It requires flexible, essentially simultaneous, checking of the progress with the three main ingredients of the program: client, site and the architect’s own database of tools.
6. It is important to bring both humility and strength of conviction to every project. Every client is different, but they all want their desires to be met and they want to believe their architect has the ability to exceed their desires. An architect must meet the client’s requirements, but remain the leader of the process.
7. Keeping structure evident is the easiest way to instill order and visual logic to a building.
8. For most buildings, the most important non-functional quality an architect can imbue in a building is serenity. This will be different for every client and can result from a number of attributes: lack of visual clutter, limited palette of materials and colors, rhythmic repetition of structural and other elements, skillful use of natural daylighting, a clear and ordered layout.
9. There need to be enough orientational cues in a building to empower the visitor to understand it early without undermining the delight that comes from surprise or sequence.
10. The most elegant buildings result from rigorously adhering to the well-defined problem and finding the simplest way to solve it.
CREDITS
Witt
Builder: Greg Paul Builders, Raleigh, NC
Structural Engineer: Lysaght and Associates, Raleigh, NC
Photographer: Bryan Hoffman, Miami, FL
Summit Oaks
Builder: Si Rothrock, Reidsville, NC
Structural Engineer: Lysaght and Associates, Raleigh, NC
Photographer: Tom McWilliam, NY, NY
Hall’s Mill
Builder: Dovertail Construction/John Shoneman, Hillsborough, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Tom McWilliam, NY, NY
Staple
Builder: Dovetail Construction/John Shoneman, Hillsborough, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Tom McWilliam, NY, NY
Redbud
Builder: Glenn Schultz/Geoff Nidle/Jamey Tippens, Hillsborough, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Tom McWilliam, NY, NY and James Holcomb
A Southern Season
Shell Architect: JS Architecture, Raleigh, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Lighting Design: Colorlume, Inc, Carrboro, NC
Color Design: Ann Hall Color Design, San Fransisco, CA
A/V Design: Kontek, Durham, NC
Garden Plantings: Kinetic Gardening, Pittsboro, NC
Pool Installation: American Pond Company, Burlington, NC
Builders: Carneal Downey Construction, Raleigh, NC
Brasfield & Gorrie, Raleigh, NC
Photographer: Tom McWilliam, NY, NY
The Nathaniel Rochester House
Builder: Krichco Construction, Chapel Hill, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Greg Stewart Photography, Pittsboro, NC
Culp
Builder: Dovetail Construction, John Shoneman, Hillsborough, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Greg Stewart Photography, Pittsboro, NC
Leikin-Collins
Builder: Capstone Building Corporation, Chapel Hill, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Greg Stewart Photography, Pittsboro, NC
Faucette Mill Farm
Builder: Christopher Rand Construction, Durham, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Dustin Peck Photography, Inc., Charlotte, NC
Petropolous
Builder: Original Space, Raleigh, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Greg Stewart Photography, Pittsboro, NC
Coon Rock Farm, Hillsborough, NC
Builder: Willis Vandergrief, Durham, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Greg Stewart Photography, Pittsboro, NC
Magnolia Cottage
Builder: Christopher Rand Construction, Durham, NC
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Photographer: Dustin Peck Photography, Inc., Charlotte, NC
Forrest House
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Contractor: McDevitt Construction, Durham, NC
Photographer: Greg Stewart Photography
Cwn Annwn
Structural Engineer: Taconic Engineering, Chatham, NY
Construction Manager: Rapp CM, Hudson, NY
Harris-Sartor
Structural Engineer: Charles Murphy, Carrboro, NC
Contractor: Arrowhead Building Company, Raleigh, NC
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