Arthur Gould Odell was born in Concord, NC, on November 22, 1913. In 1930, he studied at Duke University, and later, he transferred and graduated in 1935 from Cornell University. After his research, he acquired additional schooling at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and then went on a grand excursion of the Continent.
After returning to the United States, he worked with Wallace K. Harrison. In 1939, he worked with Raymond Loewy, who designed Studebaker’s classic aerodynamic lines. Odell moved to Charlotte and started his one-person office.
He enlisted in the Corps of Engineers during World War II and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1941. After the war, he founded Odell Associates, one of the largest in North Carolina.
Odell greatly supported the International style in Charlotte and used his skills and efforts to transform the city. Although he wasn’t famous for his residential work, he undertook such projects for his close friends and significant corporate clients. Odell held the position of President at AIANC from 1943 to 1954 and later became the first national AIA President from North Carolina in 1965.
Some of the staff at Odell left to establish Clark Harris Tribble and Li in 1973. Due to health issues and a second internal rebellion, Odell sold most of his stocks to a younger managing unit in 1979. In the 1980s, Odell alums established around 40 practices. Even after retiring in 1982, he continued visiting the office while requiring a nurse.
Arthur Gould Odell lived in a traditional house built in 1925 at 2149 Sherwood Avenue in Charlotte. Although he did not design the house himself, he considerably renovated it throughout his career, garnering media attention. His work on the house even earned him a feature on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens in October 1955.
Odell designed several buildings in Research Triangle Park, including the Dreyfus Auditorium and the Wachovia Building in Downtown Raleigh.