Webb, James

From Triangle Modernist Houses:

Jim Webb went to Pomona College then received a BA in architecture from the University of California Berkeley in 1937.  In the Army, he got TB and spent time in an Army hospital in Colorado.  Then he got a MA in City Planning from MIT in 1946.  For a time, he worked for architect William Wurster in California. Wurster created the "Bay Area Style," an informal modem style of California Ranch that adapted to hilly sites by means of raised basements, with porches, patios, balconies and carports extending the living space out into nature. The post and beam frameworks eliminated the need for loadbearing interior retaining walls and ceilings, thus interiors had flowing spaces and cathedral ceilings.

Webb left California to join the UNC-Chapel Hill's new City and Regional Planning School in 1947.  He remained on their faculty for 30 years. Webb practiced in Chapel Hill with his brother John until John returned to Berkeley.  He started the firm City Planning and Architecture Associates (CPAA) in the late 1950's, recruiting Don Stewart as a partner.  Webb left CPAA in the mid-1970's to practice on his own where he continued until his death.