Learn More About Azurest South

Azurest South

Azurest South is one of Virginia's few mature examples of International Style, a style that espoused a complete break with architectural traditions. Designed by Amaza Lee Meredith (1895-1984), one of the nation's few black female architects, the house is a significant landmark of African-American material culture and design.

Following the completion of the dwelling in 1939, Miss Meredith lived there until her death. Trained at Columbia Teacher's College as an artist and teacher, Miss Meredith founded the Fine Arts Department at Virginia State University (VSU) in 1930. Although principally employed as a teacher, Miss Meredith also enjoyed a limited architectural career designing houses and interiors for herself, family, and friends in Virginia, Texas, and New York. At Sag Harbor, a Long Island resort for wealthy whites, including the Roosevelt family, Miss Meredith, and her family and friends created Azurest North, an enclave of vacation homes for middle-class blacks.

Azurest South, the home she built adjacent to Virginia State University's campus, demonstrates her fascination with avant-garde design, her familiarity with modern materials and construction details, and her courage in expressing non-traditional ideas in the public eye of the state's first land grant college for African Americans. This house, a five-room, single-story dwelling, can be classified with other residences designed in the International Style: a place for living, devoid of applied ornament or historic references. Azurest South has clean lines and a strong geometry emphasizing regularity rather than symmetry. The flat roof, designed as a terrace, is highlighted by plain metal coping and steel pipe rails, all painted a bright turquoise or "Azurest blue." Dramatic use of color, vivid patterning of walls, floors, and ceilings, and the use of inventive lighting fixtures characterize the interior design. The house functioned partly as a design laboratory and studio for Ms. Meredith, so its appearance evolved subtly over the years, reflecting her studies of color and material.

In light of the overwhelming dominance of traditional architecture in Virginia, Miss Meredith's Modern achievement at Azurest was quite advanced. Combined with her lack of formal training and the fact she was a female architect in a male-dominated profession, her accomplishments are all the more remarkable.

In 1993, Azurest South was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register, and in 1994, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2001, it was also documented during Women's Month by the National Register of Historic Places. In describing this extraordinary woman’s talents, Azurest South was called a “significant landmark of African-American material culture and design. In 2024, it received designation as a National Historic Landmark from the U.S. Department of the Interior.  

Excerpts were taken from the National Register of Historic Places website.

Homecoming 2024 Latest Updates and Information

Stay up-to-date on Homecoming 2024:   Click here for the latest information on Homecoming 2024

Congratulations to all VSUAA Membership Award Recipients

VSUAA Membership Awards 2023-2024

Calling All Members Of The Golden Class of 1975

Please use the link below to make your contribution! 

https://bit.ly/classof1975

Click on the link to enlarge the flyer

Happy Birthday To All VSU Alumni Born In November

Here's to another year of good health and happiness. We hope it's a great day!

    Who Will Be The Next Mr. & Ms. VSU Alumni

    Who Will Rise to the Occasion and Claim the Title of Mr. or Ms. VSU Alumni?

    The stage is set. The spotlight is on. This is your chance to cement your legacy and shine as the pride of our alumni community! The title is yours to claim--are you ready?

    For more details, please join us for a virtual interest meeting on November 20th at 7 PM. (See Zoom link below)

    ---------

    Zoom Meeting Details.

    Mr. and Ms. Alumni Contest

    Time: Nov 20, 2024, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

    https://jtje9brab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001TKeQxGOrBAoBmF2BCXF9-n4DbPsq8lv2-Rv4aO2FJ46BsZaQ562XXmrYqk-J9-xEQOX1zWH-rofrLiUdjJuRXzOLBS5zq-x4yjgGnV0l7T-6hjVaeSHgL81EEaNsEdmlfWt8D7uHE9qmxkN_09ogmeuJkz-RKkS9LZss54XOhFS-RwmBjBc6rvnyjFa8pZy611ZDoKV1qxdqEYgs3oS6EQW_hFJ5RaGqjOGqpBc0pCblnkrrDyohp3H4d-enaUlZsPP2ZE3BtkmkRetRI5009xrtlLfQZBOP0Mg-vXCqPm5kTRbrAWQFRhv6tB8FzKMKg2yKrVqdse5S62gCz6za8MF9V_iqlHI0OsALbPOzV8A3NDdKcUPdBkavwh4g-AJCCGNIqbUkBOtndCslLnK8rg==&c=gwOv3DIspunmgY7a4LnMZ_zgg6Z-P-o4BNwhtdoB_3JVXhq11J67jg==&ch=vZJlbgv28BgE7GvoMTh9-rI_6YdM5ZHY7-hPRcokWmctOOMcX1lQ5g

    ==.

    Click or tap to follow the link." data-linkindex="0" style="border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 179);">https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83004473202...

    Meeting ID: 830 0447 3202

    Passcode: Mr112024Ms

    ---

    One tap mobile

    +13017158592,,83004473202#,,,,*6217040736# US (Washington DC)

    ---

    Dial by your location

    +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

    Meeting ID: 830 0447 3202

    Passcode: 6217040736

    Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kdgKjjnZ4

    1. VSU Trojan 10 Under 10 Award Program
    2. VSUAA President on the Move
    3. VSU Trojan Explosion $40 for Forty Campaign
    4. VSU Class of 1980

    CONTACT US

    VSU Alumni Association
    P.O. Box 2488
    Petersburg, VA 23804

    Phone: (804) 605-6598
    Email : info2@vsuaaonline.com

    Report Website Errors to:
    stayinformed@vsuaaonline.com

    ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

    Sign-up for our weekly email updates

    Subscribe

    AFFINITY PARTNERS

     

    CONNECT WITH US!