Bicentennial House open to public during New Harmony Spring Art Stroll
March 13, 2014
The New Harmony Bicentennial House, a project that is part of the historic town's 200th anniversary celebration, will be open to the public from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 15, during the Spring Art Stroll.
The Bicentennial House project included a design competition in 2011. Architects were asked to design a house inspired by the original single-family homes built by New Harmony's founding community, the Harmonie Society (1814-1824).
The competition was sponsored by Historic New Harmony and the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals or teams were invited to submit designs inspired by traditional Harmonist construction with emphasis on sustainable, energy-efficient, and affordable housing.
The entries were displayed at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art and the public was invited to vote for their favorite design. The winning design, by architect and USI instructor Rupert Condict of Evansville, Indiana, entered the engineering phase in fall 2012.
The transition from design plans to construction drawings was undertaken as a service learning project by students in an engineering course at USI. The final plans were presented to the town council of New Harmony for free public use in November 2012.
New Harmony resident Kent Parker, in cooperation with the Kent and Laurie Parker Family Foundation, engaged master craftsman Ralph Glaser to build the house on a lot on Main Street, and is making the property accessible to the public during 2014, New Harmony's bicentennial year.
For the full calendar of bicentennial events, go to www.newharmony-in.gov.