Our Town Spotlight

CAMP

DAYS

New Life Camp hopes to breathe new life into its facilities

The intersection of Falls of Neuse and Durant roads in North Raleigh is a typical suburban business area: There’s a Kohl’s and Harris Teeter, and across the street, a Walgreens; WakeMed North’s women’s and family hospital anchors the northeast corner. Then there’s the strikingly verdant northwest quadrant with its stone-flanked sign: New Life Camp.

Since 1950, thousands of Raleigh area youth have flocked here for summer camp and idyllic fun on 72 wooded acres with a natural lake, zip line,

water slide, pool, trails, go-kart track, frisbee-golf course, basketball courts, soccer field, climbing wall, low ropes course, craft cabin, and snack shack. Since 1950, those amenities have hardly changed. “It’s charming, basic, dormitory-style camping,” says executive director Greg Burton. “Kids absolutely love it,” but Burton knows the 67-year-old buildings are nearing the end of their lifespan. It’s why he and the camp’s board of directors launched a first-ever capital campaign in March. They aim to raise $3 million by August and almost $8 million total for new cabins and facilities. “This isn’t a want as much as it’s a desire to steward the camp into the next generation.” Demand remains high, and he wants to keep it that way: Overnight sessions fill up months in advance and run all summer long.

‘Get away from the noise’

Through the generations, the Christian camp has grown its mission as the city has grown around it. Counselors and staff are quick to share their non-denominational faith, but camp at New Life is less about religion and more about simple opportunities to play and for fellowship. “Not many kids get to run around in the woods and play in lakes around here anymore,” Burton says. “We want to give kids that experience. This is a place to get away from the noise in a fun, safe environment. A place to hear and think and listen.” Over the years, the camp has gradually added play facilities: an indoor basketball gym in 1999, a pool in 2009, soccer fields in 2010, and another basketball gym along the way. “We believe that young men and women need Christ, but they also just need a place to get away. … No matter what they believe, these tools and these spaces give us opportunities to build great relationships with kids. To play basketball with kids. To

hang out with kids. That’s all we want.” Kids ages 8 - 18 are the primary focus, but Burton says the need for a place to escape to nature in North Raleigh is evident. “Camp used to be way out in the sticks and it’s just not anymore.” The surrounding community eagerly takes advantage of its nearby beauty: Local bible studies meet in the dining hall, area homeschool sports leagues use the gyms, and nonprofits use the cabins and the outdoor spaces. “We want to love any and everybody well, and we can do that using the tools we have.” This is where the capital campaign comes in: cabins without air conditioning are charming but impractical, and the worship/community center is so old that the cost of renovating it exceeds that of replacing it. Basic modern construction would be a game-changer. It would include air conditioning, bathrooms in every building (right now campers share one bathroom cabin), maybe even a

few “bells and whistles” like a good ’ol screened porch. “We’ll be able to use the new cabins year-round, and that is going to allow us to say yes to our community. We’re saying no right now to lots of groups “This is a place to get away from the noise in a fun, safe environment. A that could be here.” As of press time, New Life Camp has raised $1 million place to hear and think and listen.” plus a $400,000 matching donation pledge, which means it’s on its way to the $3 million August goal. Burton is optimistic because he believes his request is not on his behalf, not even on his camp’s behalf, but rather on behalf of the larger community and its future. “Why would I want buildings sitting when I could be using them? Everything is spiritual for us, but to take the spiritual side out of it, we want to serve our community. For us to invite a nonprofit to use our space is a blessing. We want more and more of that.” –Jessie Ammons

WALTER profile

MASTER BUILDER

Phil Freelon

builds inspired communities

by J. MICHAEL WELTON

PLACES WITH PURPOSE

Above: Models on display at Perkins+Will offices in Research Triangle Park. Opposite: The facade of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.

DDURHAM-BASED ARCHITECT PHIL FREELON’S LIFE STORY HAS PLAYED OUT as one of victory, tragedy, and grace under pressure. His career – perhaps unrivalled by any North Carolina architect, past or present – has blazed an ever-ascending arc across the national stage. Freelon’s most significant contributions include the 2009 Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte and the 2014 Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. But the 2016 Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington D.C., for which he is architect of record, ranks as his crowning professional achievement to date.

The Washington Post noted in March that in its first six months, the $540 million, 400,000-square-foot structure had welcomed more than 1,200,000 visitors, placing it among the four most popular Smithsonian museums.

Groundbreaking took place in November 2012; four years of construction followed. By September 2016, the museum that The Architect’s Newspaper was calling “the most important American building of the 21st century” opened to international fanfare. But for Freelon, 65, it was a bittersweet moment. Six months earlier, he’d been diagnosed with ALS, a debilitating disease that could leave him paralyzed in five years. Still, with four major civic projects currently underway in Detroit, Houston, Miami, and Jackson, Miss., ALS has not slowed the pace of his work. His path to a museum on the Mall seems, in retrospect, almost predetermined. In fact, it is the result of hard work and vision. The grandson of Harlem Renaissance artist Allan Randall Freelon, Sr., he graduated from Philadelphia’s elite Central High School, which also counts modern architecture master Louis Kahn among its alumni. He earned an undergraduate degree in architecture from N.C. State and a graduate degree from M.I.T. A Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, he’s also served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. In 1990, Freelon launched The Freelon Group, and in 2014 joined forces with international powerhouse Perkins+Will, where he is now a leader in the firm’s cultural and civic practice, serves on its board of directors, and is design director of its North Carolina practice. Along the way, Freelon and his colleagues have designed some of the nation’s most prestigious civic buildings of the past two decades. “When you see his work, the thread that ties them all together is that they’re always places with social purposes,” says Zena Howard, managing director at Perkins+Will. “They serve the community long after the designers are gone – his buildings engage with the community, because he starts the design process with the community.”

Decades in the making

The concept of an African-American museum on the Mall was 30 years in the making for Georgia congressman John Lewis, who worked tirelessly to pass its enabling legislation. As he did, Freelon tracked his efforts closely – and when H.R. 3491 was signed into law in 2003, he stepped up. “Phil knew he wanted to be a part of this,” says Howard, who worked on the museum with him for seven years. “He looked at Senator Lewis’s push, and when George W. Bush signed the legislation, he was ahead of the game.” Freelon knew what he wanted: “He says museums are the best projects you can get – and not everybody gets them,” says Lew Myers, former director of business development at The Freelon Group. Anticipating a design competition and determined to win it, Freelon called New York architect J. Max Bond in 2006. “We were the hot young firm and Max was the leader of black architects,” Myers says. “We needed the juice, so we flew to D.C. and Max came down from New York. We talked about who to have on our team, who to stroke to get influence, and then we put together a great

Lissa Gotwals (top two photographs); Alan Karchmer/ NMAAHC (bottom right);

ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Clockwise from top left: Two views of the Perkins+Will offices in Research Triangle Park; A view of the Washington Monument as seen from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Design team members David Adjaye, Max Bond, and Phil Freelon during a working session for the museum. Opposite: Phil Freelon and Zena Howard, managing director at Perkins+Will, who worked closely with Freelon on the Smithsonian museum project.

game plan and executed it to perfection. No one thought we had a chance in hell.” But they did. In 2008, the Smithsonian announced its competition, attracting 22 entries from rock stars like Norman Foster, Pei Cobb Freed, and Moshe Safdie. Soon after, Bond got a call from British architect David Adjaye. A young and rapidly rising star, Adjaye expressed a desire to join them, so Bond asked Freelon to fly to New York to meet him. “Phil came back and said: ‘I was hoping he was going to be a son of a &*%$#, but he wasn’t – he’s a great guy, and he’s going to be the designer,’” Myers says. “It took me a while to come to grips with that, but that’s an example of how he put the project and the client first.” The plan was for Bond to guarantee the design, Adjaye to serve as the lead architect, and Freelon the architect of record – while the SmithGroup handled construction documents. “Right away, there was a sense of magic between the three of us – it clicked,” Adjaye says. “There was a palpable sense that we’d struck the right balance.” The year – 2009 – proved to be an emotional roller-coaster. In January, their entry made the final round of six, thanks to Bond’s thoroughly researched, well-written program. But in February, Bond succumbed to cancer, and Freelon took on the role of guarantor. By midApril, the Smithsonian would name their entry its winner. Their team, Adjaye says, was one that Bond had referred to as a jazz ensemble – each player focusing on his own strengths in a way that would form an improvisational harmony. “I felt that with Phil from very early on, it was clear he had the expertise to manage the contracts and oversee the complex delivery process,” he says. “This gave me the confidence that I could really focus in on designing the building, and the rest would be in safe hands.” After the building opened, Freelon was working hard even as he was coming to terms with his own devastating diagnosis. He and his wife, six-time Grammy-winning jazz musician Nnenna Freelon, researched ALS, came face-to-face with it, and began to turn a medical negative into a positive. They formed The Freelon Foundation and launched a campaign called Design a World without ALS to raise money for research. A benefit concert at Durham’s Carolina Theatre on April 20 – starring Nnenna Freelon

and friends – raised $160,000. Freelon declined to look back on his work for this article; instead, typically, he chose to focus on the future. He continues to design some of the most interesting, consciousness- raising civic projects in the nation, each a singular response to his client’s mission. In Jackson, Miss., for instance, Freelon is designing the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, dedicated to civil rights and the history of Mississippi. In Houston, he’s at work on Emancipation Park, a combination of new construction, renovation, landscape architecture, site development, and commemorative sculpture in the heart of the African-American community. In Detroit, he’s working with Berry Gordy to expand the Motown Museum by 40,000 square feet. And in Miami, he’s doing preliminary work on the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora. Asked about his legacy, Freelon is succinct: “I can say we’re on to the next project

PORTFOLIO

Opposite: Renderings of current projects include the expansion of the Motown Museum in Detroit and Emancipation Park in Houston. This page: The Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Closer to home, Perkins+Will worked on the Durham Bus Station. and I’m not finished,” he says. “That is yet to be written – and I expect there will be many more chapters.” Courage, Ernest Hemingway once said, is defined as grace under pressure. But in the world of civic architecture, it might be defined best by the life and work of Phil Freelon.

HOT stuff

Cheetie Kumar’s creative combinations

by JESSIE AMMONS

G“GARLANDS ARE A VERY TRADITIONAL INDIAN CELEBRATORY SYMBOL. They’re reverent, they tie in different elements.” On a recent afternoon, chef Cheetie Kumar sat in Garland, the downtown Raleigh restaurant she co-founded, co-owns, and operates, reflecting on the inspiration behind its name. Clearly, it comes from everywhere: Silvery spindly tree branches painted on the wall behind her extend up and onto the ceiling; the floor is made of wood salvaged from an old YMCA basketball court; midcentury modern globe lights hang from above.

‘WE SPEND OUR LIVES IN THIS BUILDING’

Above: A mainstay on the Garland menu is the local catch: a freshly caught N.C. fish of the day in a savory broth with greens, shiitake mushrooms, puffed rice salad, chili oil, and an edible flower garnish. Below: The Garland building trifecta on West Martin Street, at center. The top floor houses King’s; the main floor is Garland; and the subterranean terrain is Neptune’s. Chef Cheetie Kumar and her husband Paul Siler own and operate all three: “We spend our lives in this building,” she says.

DYNAMIC DUO

Paul Siler and Cheetie Kumar at King’s, a longtime music venue that moved to its current space in 2010, when Neptune’s also opened. Garland followed in 2013. The three seemingly diverse business concepts suit the couple. They have also formed two bands together (they still play in Birds of Avalon) in addition to working jointly at the restaurant.

The warm spices of the Asian-meets-Southern cuisine that made her a semifinalist for the revered James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in February waft from the kitchen. The flavor mashups – ghee-griddled corn cakes and greens with tandoor onion vinaigrette, lamian noodles with local ribeye and local greens in lemongrass-chili broth, macaroons with a savory cardamom kick – embody her ethos. If anything, Kumar, who is also a professional musician, is multi-faceted. Beneath her restaurant, she and her husband Paul Siler own and operate Neptune’s, a bar known for its local DJ cast and wee-hours dancing; above it, they run a live music venue, King’s, which hosts a diverse nightly lineup. Long hailed by a music-savvy cult following, the night spots have succeeded independently. When she and Siler decided four years ago to put Garland in the middle, it tied the building together. “A string of three different places,” Kumar says, “functioning as one.” So far – until the James Beard nomination came along, anyway – the restaurant has been the most underrated of the three. But while indie rock fans have flocked to King’s and twentysomething revelers to Neptune’s, Kumar has been perfecting an approachable, unusual fine dining menu. So these days, the foodies flock, too. Garland has become a downtown destination in and of itself, a permanent spicy fixture in Raleigh’s award-winning restaurant scene. Siler, who is also Kumar’s bandmate (more on that later), says a quiet buzz has been building for years, as Garland earned praise from Southern Living and Saveur magazines, among others. When Kumar became a semifinalist for the James Beard award, it cemented things. She didn’t progress to the next round, which didn’t dampen the recognition one bit. “I feel a sense of validation, a sense of gratitude. And also, it’s really energizing. We’re on the right track.”

‘The little dance’

Kumar’s track to the kitchen began early, as a young girl in Chandigarh, India, watching her grandmother and mother cook together multiple times each day. When she was 8, her family moved to the Bronx and Kumar became her mom’s sous chef. “My mom would call me after school and say, ‘Soak the lentils, salt the eggplant, soak the rice.’ I started doing the very basic prep. After a few years, I learned things I could make for dinner.” While cooking remained a constant presence in her life, it was placed on a back burner when Kumar went to college in Massachusetts and then worked in music management. On a road trip through Raleigh in the early ’90s, she fell in love with the city – its midcentury modern architecture reminded her of her Indian hometown – and stayed. Soon after, she met Siler; before long, the two married; and a few years later, the couple co-founded rock band The Cherry Valence (and later, in 2004, Birds of Avalon). Kumar plays guitar and bass, two other lifelong interests she gradually taught herself. Food came back to the forefront thanks to relentless band touring. “I kept reading about food and kind of obsessing about it. Not having good food when you’re on tour makes you food-centric. Then I would come home and cook my a** off.” Kumar says that her two passions, music and food, don’t inspire one another as much as they coexist and help her stay the course. “It’s like the little dance: two steps forward on one, then two steps forward in the other. They help me balance creativity. It’s nice to have an affair with the other one when one becomes too much like a job. Playing a show or working on a new song, even after a long day in the restaurant, can reset my brain in a way that taking a day off and just sleeping all day can’t.”

Harmony

Lately, Garland has been Kumar’s featured track. After parting ways with other co-founding partners, she and Siler now solely own and manage King’s, Neptune’s, and Garland together. They’ve allowed each spot to find its own footing, and they’re finally making long-envisioned improvements to cultivate “a symbiotic relationship. The original intent of this building was to be one animal with different heads.” So Neptune’s received a facelift with a new floor mural and a rearranged bar and seating area. Behind the scenes, an expanded kitchen now allows it to open earlier, around happy hour, offer a simple bar menu, and become “a cocktail waiting room for Garland, that place you can go before or after dinner. We’ll have snacks, so you can go and have some masala popcorn down there.” King’s got a freshening, too – “some paint. A new door. An upfitted stairwell and lobby. Little details that have always bugged us and now we’re doing it all at once” – to add small private events to its venue capabilities. Those events, too, will benefit from Garland’s dishes and drinks: Complementing the food menu are separate lunch and dinner cocktail menus, which rotate seasonally. The heart of it all is Garland, and behind it, the tireless, precise, mellow Kumar. Four years in to the adventure, she says there’s finally a harmony between space and food. “There are things that you understand when you walk into a place, in how it feels. There are subtleties that convey messages.” The restaurant is eclectic, dimly lit, packed with per-

sonal touches; likewise, the food is complex, piquant, inspired by both pan-Asian flavors and nearby farmers’ markets. “When I came to the South for the first time, I realized, this place has a microculture. Americans have an identity first, but then the South has its own thing going on … there’s a culinary identity here. The food here (at Garland) is a bunch of different influences and perspectives tied together by us being able to source locally. I think the same palate would – and does – like all of these cuisines. It’s just tying different elements together.” As befits her, and the place she’s created here in Raleigh.

SNACKS WITH SPICE

Recipes inspired by the Garland menu and the Neptune’s bar bites

“Don’t even think about using curry powder in any Indian recipe,” chef Cheetie Kumar says, explaining that it’s a “British concoction, a second-generation blend of spices that no true Indian cook would ever throw together in the same dish or even at the same time. If there is one central spice blend in Indian food – particularly Northern Indian food, it is garam masala. This versatile blend becomes an ingredient in its own right.” You can see what she means with two of the recipes below: toasted peanuts and grilled chicken, both with Garland flair. There’s also a refreshing seasonal raita, or yogurt-y condiment.

GARAM MASALA

A masala is usually defined as a mixture of spices. “There are as many variations of this blend of spices as there are families in

India,” Kumar says. “One thing everyone agrees on: Toast and grind your own whole spices, and don’t keep ground spices around too long. Once you make your own, you will think twice about buying it ready-made.” And tweaks are welcomed: “Add chile powder, or any other spices that you favor. Just be careful with cinnamon, as it can quickly take over!”

Kumar says to buy small bags of whole spices at a local Indian store, and grind as needed.

She recommends Patel Brothers in Cary.

1/4 cup cumin seeds, toasted and ground (measure spices after grinding) 1/2 cup coriander seeds, toasted and ground 2 tablespoons black pepper, freshly ground 1 tablespoon cloves, ground 1 tablespoon green cardamom seeds, ground 1 large or 2 small pods black cardamom, ground (grind whole including pod) 1 stick medium-sized cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground

Grind spices separately in a spice-dedicated coffee grinder or blender. Measure each one and mix all together in a small bowl. This yields about 1 cup and will keep for 2-3 weeks in a tightly sealed container away from direct heat.

“HOT HOT” PEANUTS

2 1/2 tablespoons garam masala (see recipe above) 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon granulated cane sugar 1 tablespoon amchur (dry raw mango) powder (can be found at Indian markets) 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, ground 2 cups N.C. peanuts, shelled 1/2 cup grapeseed or good-quality canola oil zest and juice of 1/2 lime

Mix the first 5 ingredients (garam masala through cayenne pepper) and set aside. Heat oil in a wok or deep skillet until shimmering but not smoking. Add half of the peanuts and cook over medium heat, stirring until toasted and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or mesh spider and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate or cookie sheet. Repeat with the other half of the peanuts. Put the hot peanuts in a bowl and toss in the spices, stirring to coat the peanuts evenly. Taste for salt and add more if you like. Sprinkle on lime zest and juice before serving. If you can’t find amchur, increase the amount of lime juice and zest to your liking. Yields 2 cups

YOGURT-MARINATED GRILLED CHICKEN

1 cup cilantro tops, roughly chopped 1 cup yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped 1/4 cup fresh ginger, roughly chopped (unpeeled is OK if skin is shiny and smooth, wash thoroughly) 2 tablespoons garlic, peeled and roughly chopped ½ cup garam masala (see recipe above left) 1 tablespoon coriander seed, toasted and ground (optional) 2 teaspoons ginger powder, ground (optional) pinch of cayenne or chile powder 3 cups good-quality plain, whole fat yogurt 4-5 pounds boneless chicken, whichever parts you favor 1/4 cup canola oil salt, to taste

Make the marinade: Puree first 8 ingredients (cilantro tops through chile powder) in a food processor or powerful blender until a smooth paste forms. Remove to a bowl and fold in yogurt. Combine well. Makes 1 quart of marinade.

For the chicken: Set 1/2 cup of the marinade aside. Pour marinade over the chicken until well coated (as much as necessary, there is no exact measurement). Marinate for at least 2 hours; 6-8 hours is best. Remove chicken from marinade and spread onto a cookie sheet. Season all sides with salt and drizzle canola oil all over.

You can cook this chicken on a sheet pan under the broiler, turning once and basting with reserved marinade. Or grill the chicken. Serve with lemon wedges and tomato raita (recipe below). Serves 6 - 8

SUMMER TOMATO RAITA

1 quart plain, whole milk yogurt (look for a brand with no thickeners like cornstarch, pectin, guar gum, etc.; only whole milk and live active cultures) 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise (look for these at the local farmers market)

Season the tomatoes with a little salt and pepper. In a bowl, fold remaining ingredients (cumin, remaining salt, and remaining pepper) into yogurt. Taste, and add more salt if you like. Just before serving, gently fold in tomatoes.

You can omit tomatoes and serve raita with crudite: Substitute grated and drained cucumber, daikon radish, or any other mild, crunchy vegetable that’s in season. Serves 6 - 8