Check out Durham’s ‘Big Green Pickle’ at Thirst for Architecture event

N.C. Modernist Houses hosts monthly Thirst for Architecture happy hour events, and the next one is Thursday.

These informal happy hours are free and open to the public. The events are for “Modernist homeowners, architects, artists, designers, realtors, engineers, contractors, property investors, building managers, materials and furniture dealers – or anyone with a huge crush on great architecture.”

Here are the details on the next event:

From 6-8 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at University Tower (aka “The Big Green Pickle”), 3100 Tower Blvd., Durham. The group will meet at the University Club on the tower’s top floor. The event is being hosted by Pat Bria of Tucker Bria, a Durham-based financial planning firm.

The event will feature a special guest, Matthew Roth, the Raleigh typewriter poet. Give him $5 and he’ll write a poem on any subject on his classic typewriter.

Other upcoming events include:

▪ 6-8 p.m. July 23 at McConnell Studios, 324 Dupont Circle, Raleigh. McConnell Studios produces sculpture, lighting and architectural installations for public, commercial and residential spaces. The event will include art, music, coffee, beer and more.

▪ 6-8 p.m. Aug. 20 at Straw Valley, 5420 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham. Join architect Jason Hart of CUBE design + research, a Chapel Hill architecture and design firm, for refreshments in Straw Valley’s courtyard.

Info: ncmodernist.org/t4a.htm

Herb garden event

The N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh is hosting a drop-in herb garden tour and class from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

This free event will feature local gardeners, herb organizations and museum staff teaching about doorstop gardens, past and present. In Colonial times, doorstop gardens provided a self-sufficient household with foods, flavorings and herbal medicines. Short sessions include a talk about how to use herbs in the kitchen, a chance to create a garden journal and tours of the gardens at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m..

Info: 5 E. Edenton St., Raleigh, ncmuseumofhistory.org

Author to speak about architect William Nichols

Architect Paul Hardin Kapp will discuss his book “The Architecture of William Nichols: Building the Antebellum South in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi” in Hillsborough at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Kapp’s presentation will be in the Eagle Masonic Lodge #19 at 142 W. King St., a building designed by Nichols and built in 1823. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Nichols also designed St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on St. Mary’s Road in Hillsborough, built in 1824.

Kapp’s book is the first comprehensive biography of Nichols, a significant yet overlooked architect in the American South.

Nichols immigrated to the United States in 1800 and became known for his work designing statehouses across the South. He was named North Carolina’s state architect in 1818, remodeled the state capitol building and worked on a number of projects on the University of North Carolina campus. He is credited with producing the university’s first master plan.

Kapp was the historical architect and UNC’s historic preservation manager from 2002 until 2008 and oversaw the renovation of a number of historic campus buildings.

Chicken coop and rain barrel classes in Durham

Durham gardener Frank Hyman regularly offers classes.

Here are the details:

▪ 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday or June 27, a do-it-yourself design-build workshop, “Create an Alternative Roof-to-Roots Rain Harvesting System That Looks Great and Makes Your Life Easier.” (Hyman’s notation: no puny, ugly 50-gallon pickle barrels involved.)

▪ 10 a.m.-1 p.m. June 20, a do-it-yourself design-build workshop: Build an alternative chicken coop and habitat. Hyman’s class description says: Learn how to manage feed, water, poop, eggs and other hen issues in a way that allows you to safely take two-week vacations with your hens happily on auto-pilot.

Cost for classes: $35. Payment in advance required; rain or shine. Limit 12 students.

More info: frankhyman.com

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Check out Durham’s ‘Big Green Pickle’ at Thirst for Architecture event."