Matthew Konar, known by his close friends and peers simply as 'Konar', has spent the past 15 years improving local communities as architect and food activist. His local architecture career spans over 15 years and includes projects ranging from the North Carolina Museum of Art Expansion to numerous downtown Raleigh and Durham buildings and food concepts. A little over three years ago, Konar started his own architectural practice, Matthew Konar Architect. His projects immediately created a consistent theme of sensitive existing building renovations and thriving food-industry concepts ranging from ‘Dirt to Dish’ as well as all local businesses, owners and characters, including Counter Culture Coffee’s new Roastery, Headquarters and Training Center in a renovated grain processing facility in East Durham, an Aggregation Center in the Sandhills region for the local farming community, helping American Meltdown go from food truck to ‘brick and mortar', and Raleigh Raw’s Flagship Store in downtown Raleigh. Personally, with the recent purchase of The Farmhouse in Durham, Konar is, small step by small step, transforming the work/life overlap for himself and his architectural practice; reinvigorating the ‘slow’ and honored Southern traditions; and redefining the term 'urban agriculture’.

 

In addition to his architecture practice, Konar established a ‘guerilla’, micro-funding concept called groundworkk four years ago which further strengthened his connections to local artists, entrepreneurs, creatives, chefs, and anyone passionate and wanting to start a concept of their own.

 

In 2016, Konar was selected by Southern Living magazine as one of the Innovators Changing the South. To quote Southern Living, "Small businesses help build communities, and architect Matthew Konar wants communities to be involved in helping build those businesses in the first place."