Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

native Alan McCullough Jr. (c.1909 – July 13, 1993) was a 20th-century modernist architect who found popularity after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for his Virginia residences. His work in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and the Northern Neck married modern design and planning with local elements like colonial brick and buff-colored mortar. Like other regional architects such as Virginia Beach's Lewis Rightmier, Richmond's E. Tucker Carlton and Alexandria's

Charles M. Goodman Charles M. Goodman, FAIA (November 26, 1906 – October 29, 1992) was an American architect who made a name for his modern designs in suburban Washington, D.C. after World War II. While his work has a regional feel, he ignored the colonial rev ...

, McCullough took the open plans, striking geometry and low profiles of houses by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

and built houses with regional elements appropriate to Virginia's

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

and history. McCullough's trademark features includes

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...

floors and raised fireplaces with levitating hearths. Notable schools by McCullough include Richmond's Collegiate School and the annex to the City of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

's Blackwell School. McCullough also designed buildings for C&P Telephone, United Virginia Bank and

The Tides Inn The Tides Inn is a waterfront resort just off the Rappahannock River in Irvington, Virginia, United States, and located within the Irvington National Register District. Opened in 1947 by entrepreneur E.A. Stephens, it is now owned and operated by ...

. McCullough retired in 1972 to Lancaster County, Virginia in the Northern Neck, and continued to work. He died at age 84 in a Richmond hospital. McCullough's father named the Virginia Beach, Virginia subdivision Alanton after him.

Notes

1900s births 1993 deaths Artists from Norfolk, Virginia Architects from Richmond, Virginia 20th-century American architects {{Virginia-bio-stub