North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH) announces that the naming sponsor for the 2015 George Matsumoto Prize for North Carolina Modernist residential design is Leland Little Auctions, the Southeast’s premier estate auction gallery, based in Hillsborough, NC.

NCMH created the Matsumoto Prize in 2012 to honor George Matsumoto, FAIA, one of the founding faculty members of North Carolina State University's School of Design (now College of Design). Matsumoto designed some of North Carolina's most well-known and well-loved mid-century Modernist houses.

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The Matsumoto Prize uniquely features $6000 in awards, a blue-ribbon jury of internationally known architects, and online public voting.

According to George Smart, NCMH Executive Director, “The Matsumoto Prize promotes new talent and provides motivating honors and incentives for a new generation of architects. It also contributes to wider public recognition of Modernism in all its forms -- architecture, art, furniture, and fashion -- and recognizes the significant economic and aesthetic impact of Modernism across North Carolina.”

Leland Little explained why his estate auction gallery stepped up as the exclusive sponsor of the 2015 Matsumoto Prize:

“We have admired the way that NCMH and George Smart have highlighted and recognized North Carolina’s wonderful cache of Modernist homes, generating appreciation of and interest in this aesthetic style. We are very proud to sponsor the 2015 Matsumoto Prize.”

The Matsumoto Prize is open to anyone with primary design responsibility for a completely built, from-the-ground-up, single-family Modernist house of at least 800 heated square feet completed on or after January 1, 2009. The house must be in North Carolina but the designer(s) can be from anywhere. There are no educational or licensure requirements for submission; the design speaks for itself.

NCMH will accept submissions May 1 until May 17. All submissions will be posted on the NCMH website for public voting to determine the People’s Choice winners. Jury Awards are $3,000 first place, $2,000 second place, $1,000 third place, plus a trophy for each. Winners will be announced July 16 during an awards ceremony at McConnell Studios in Raleigh.

For more information on the 2015 George Matsumoto Prize, go to http://www.ncmodernist.org/prize2015.