Anyone who has driven through South End has seen the handiwork of Charlotte architect Reg Narmour.

Olmsted Park combined apartments and Craftsman-style houses on the site of a former baseball park.

The Atherton Mill complex is a restoration and adaptive reuse of a historic mill.

The Design Center of the Carolinas, Camden Row, Camden Square Village West, The Kingston and other projects also were designed by Narmour’s firm.

But MECA Properties’ Tony Pressley, who spearheaded much of the South Boulevard corridor revitalization, wonders how many people realize that.

“He’s one of the most talented architects in the community, but because of his nature never to beat his own drum, his contributions have never been fully recognized,” he said.

Narmour Wright Creech Architecture’s leaders want to make sure he is remembered.

As he retires at age 69 after 41 years in the profession, they’re assuring friends and associates by letter that his legacy will live on in his architectural contributions and the culture of the firm.

Narmour’s advice to them: “Keep building relationships. That’s the best way to build an architectural practice.”

The Waco, Texas, native says he has no specific retirement plans except to travel with his wife, Pat, and spend time with his nine grandchildren, six of whom live in Texas.

Narmour, an architecture graduate of Texas Tech University, came to Charlotte in 1973 after 10 years in Seattle to open an office for The Architectural Group of Dallas.

Working with one of the nation’s largest multi-family developers, Narmour expanded the operation to 75 employees with offices in five cities while designing 150,000-plus residential units and 180 commercial projects.

Weary of the travel and the demands of management, he sold his interest in the firm in 1988 and began working from home mainly on residential projects that interested him.

He was enjoying the return to his favorite part of the job — “the creative part, coming up with the design” — just as Pressley was seeking help in designing 12.5-acre Olmsted Park.

Narmour’s apartment background and home design experience won him the job.

He’s grateful to Pressley. “That project made it possible for me to survive the recession,” he recalls.

Pressley said Narmour’s creativity and calm demeanor won him probably 95 percent of MECA’s work over the past 20 years.

“He has never become defensive and finger pointing,” he said. “With him, it has always been, `How do we work together to fix this.’ ”

Narmour has been a mentor to some of Charlotte’s most recognizable names in architecture. Architect and condo developer David Furman of Boulevard Centro was his first hire in Charlotte.

Narmour’s eye for future trends — the emergence of adaptive reuse, for example — is rubbing off on the current leadership team of Tom Wright, David Creech and Curtis Sloop.

Sloop, the firm’s chief designer, has been Narmour’s right-hand man for 27 years. Wright merge his firm with Narmour’s in 1998, and Creech arrived as a partner in 2002.

They’ve expanded into mixed-use, civic and institutional projects and extended their reach throughout the Southeast.

The firm Narmour started with one employee has grown to 40 with skills in architecture, planning and interior design.

Among recent projects are David Murdock’s N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, the Alpha Mill Apartments near uptown, the Rosewood Condominiums at Providence and Sharon Amity roads, Discovery Place Kids science museum in Huntersville, The Croydon condos on Selwyn Avenue and civic buildings in Albemarle, Mint Hill and Mount Holly.

“The projects Reg and his firm touched really add to the livability of the community, from apartment communities to rehabbing old hosiery mills,” Pressley said.

The firm’s name won’t change with Narmour’s departure. “We’re proud to have Reg’s name associated with us,” Creech said.

source : charlotte.com