Birdhouse Architecture by Sarah Sze
Photo by Ellen from a recent trip to the Highline New York City 2012

Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden-Duke University
May 19th Grand Opening

Our environmental education center project at Sarah Duke Gardens with LeChase Construction is finished! We used timbers from two old donated Wilson County tobacco barns and recycled them into a storage barn, wrap around porch, and trellis which all work together as a large outdoor classroom. The staff has been planting up a storm, so if you are interested in learning more about growing your own food and seeing a small orchard, definitely stop by and see what they are creating. Another ECA project, the sculptural entry pavilion, is an orientation spot for small groups visitng the garden. It was fabricated by Storybook Metals. The image on the lower right was taken at the grand opening from the sedum-covered roof of the chicken coop.

Are you dreaming of a custom Eco-Modern home near Forest Hills?

Ellen Cassilly Architect, and BuildSense are teaming up to design and build three wonderful homes for some lucky clients. Your new home could be one of them. Please take a look at our informational flyer here and contact us to find out more. 919.530.1149.

Chute Residence

We finished the Chute addition and whole house renovation in Hope Valley just in time for the Triangle Modernists Houses’ (TMH) home tour this Spring. We have enjoyed partnering with Ryan Johnson of Revolution Homes and Amy and John Chute on this wonderful project. Now we are focused on designing and building a seating area with a fire pit - much to the delight of brothers, Andrew and Patrick.

Mann Residence
The William Alston Rive House Built c. 1832

The addition to the Mann's old home place is just about finished. Terry Stewart and his crew were so careful to make sure that the addition was seamless. It's worth a drive down to Bear Creek, NC just to see the lovely stone work on the chimney!

The Howell Residence

This 900 s.f. father-in-law's cottage in Chatham County will be a great place to stay for long visits. Strata Solar www.stratasolar.com installed two solar thermal panels to heat water and twenty PV panels to generate energy - even when dad's not visiting. We received a lovely compliment from the Chatham Building inspector when he asked for a copy of the house plans because he thought it was such a livable, efficient house. It didn't hurt that Stephen McDevitt built it with such care.

NCSU Design/Build Summer Studio

The summer studio is off and running. Ellen is team teaching again with Randy Lanou, Erik Melhman, Scott Metheny, and Aaron Trudo. The students will be designing and building a project in the art park of the North Carolina Museum of Art. Since the class is so fast, (about 11 weeks) the next newsletter should have images of the finished project! A special shout out to all of the logistical and financial behind-the-scenes work by Dean Marvin Maleca, Robin Abrams, and Dottie Haynes.

Enjoy the lovely Spring.
My husband, Frank, and I are spending it building a trellis with wood milled from our land.

Please take a moment this Memorial weekend to remember the many sacrifices that our service members perform everyday to protect our freedom.