Local developer Jason Queen and The Raleigh Architecture and Constructioncompanies are partnering to build 3 modernist houses on Wynne Street. (Photo by Chris Seward)

By David Bracken

RALEIGH — When Craig Kerins and Robby Johnston began building a cluster of modernist homes on Edenton Street a few blocks east of downtown, the architects knew they were tapping into a shift in attitudes among the homebuying public.

“The second those homes started to take shape, there was lots of market interest,” says Johnston. “We started receiving lots of phone calls.”

But the five homes – which feature large overhangs, big shared spaces filled with light from 9-by-9 windows and skylights – were all done on commission and would not be listed for sale.

That is not the case for their latest project, a trio of similarly designed houses that are now going up on Wynne Street a block from Chavis Park.

While a small sample size, Kerins and Johnston’s work is a sign that many of the defining characteristics of modernist architecture – open plans, numerous windows, and easy accessibility from inside to outside – have become features prized by many of today’s homeowners. READ MORE..