If you missed the Modern Atlanta! tour that came over here back at the end of May to view modern houses in Athens, you get another chance, with even more houses to see, and you help AIDS Athens by taking the tour this Saturday, Sept. 12. The proliferation of intown, modern houses, designed by local architects and built by local builders, has been the most refreshing recent development in Athens’ built environment. In spite of all the infill that makes it look like large chunks of Athens were built all at once around 1920 out of the Sears-Roebuck catalog, these modern houses show what can be done with sustainable materials and designs that fit the topography and use the surrounding air and light. These “modern” houses function the way houses used to, using sunlight to help keep warm and shade and airflow to cool. Moreover, even though their design is modern, they reflect, rather than compete with, the other houses around them.
But come see for yourself. The tour begins and ends at the Hotel Indigo. You can buy your ticket in advance or at the Hotel Indigo, where you get your wristband and tour booklet. Brian Winter, adjunct professor of interior design at Athens Technical College, will be present for 30 minutes at each home to tell you about them, beginning with the 12:15–12:45 p.m. slot at 141 Kendane St. in Pulaski Heights and then on to 175 Hendrix Ave., also in Pulaski Heights, where the prof will hold forth from 12:50–1:20 p.m. and so on to the next house and the next. If you want to follow along with Winter, be sure to register at Hotel Indigo by 12 p.m. Otherwise, just show up at the hotel whenever you want and strike out on the tour in any order that suits you. In all, there are seven houses on the tour—the two in Pulaski Heights, two in Five Points, one on the Westside and two on the Eastside. Altogether, they can show you the varieties of modern architecture enlivening our landscape. However you take the tour, you’ll want to get back to the Hotel Indigo by 5:30 for a reception that will feature the architects of the homes on the tour, who will be available to answer your questions.
The cost of the tour is $20 in advance or $25 the day of the tour. You’ll get a map (which you can see on the website, where you can also see pictures of the homes). The tour is rain or shine (these houses don’t leak) and no refunds, no food or drink, and no children under 12.
The proceeds raised from tour will directly benefit AIDS Athens, the local AIDS service organization in our community. AIDS Athens is a nonprofit organization that serves to address the needs of individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS through support services and to prevent the spread of the disease through education and outreach. In addition to the greater Athens area, AIDS Athens serves nine counties in Northeast Georgia. This is a great opportunity to get out on a September afternoon, support a good cause and see some of these intriguing new additions to Athens architecture. Sponsors of the tour are Hotel Indigo and Room & Board. Partners are Cindy Michael Graphic Design, JL Designs, Agora Vintage and JW York Homes.
UGA: Support Retirees!
An anonymous letter writer sent in a novel idea. “The university is in the middle of a campaign to raise $1 billion. Of that billion, $250 million will be raised as ‘unrestricted,’ meaning that the university can do ANYTHING it wants to with the money. It is not restricted to scholarships, faculty chairs, buildings or anything else.
“Since the UGA administration is not doing anything to fight for its retirees’ health benefits, maybe a few million of that $250 million could be used to keep retirees in their current plans and system. A small price to pay, I would say.”
Like what you just read? Support Flagpole by making a donation today. Every dollar you give helps fund our ongoing mission to provide Athens with quality, independent journalism.
