Louis Walter
Cherry IIIFAIA
(1953– )
Louis Cherry grew up in Grifton NC. His father was a builder and attended NC State's School of Design. Louis attended Fork Union Military Academy, graduating in 1971. He attended Duke University for several years then got a Bachelor of Fine Arts from East Carolina University in 1977. In 1978, he was a general contractor for passive solar homes in Greenville, hiring an architect who became his mentor in sustainable design, Byron Franklin. Cherry received his Masters of Architecture from the NCSU College of Design in 1983. After working for Design Dimensions 1981-1984, he moved to Hager Smith Huffman where he became a partner. In 1992, Cherry founded Cherry Huffman Architects with Dan Huffman. Cherry Huffman was on the design team with Kling Stubbins for the Lightner Public Safety Center, unbuilt.
With business partners such as acclaimed chef Ashley Christensen, he started the much-loved restaurant Enoteca Vin on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, now closed. He and former wife Ann Marie Baum also owned Cherry Modern, a modern design furnishings business, now closed. In 2011, Cherry Huffman merged with RATIO Architects of Indianapolis and Dan Huffman left to start an independent design practice. In 2013, Cherry left RATIO for a solo practice as Louis Cherry Architecture (LCA). His own house with Marsha Gordon became world-famous in 2014 when a neighbor sued to block construction. In 2014 LCA became a design/build firm.
