Sarasota Modern

by Andrew Weaving

Sarasota in the 1950s was a small community graced with an alluring natural beauty. What set it apart from so many Florida beachfront towns was the concentration of artists, writers, and architects who gathered there—including author MacKinley Kantor and architects Paul Rudolf and Ralph Twitchell—a unique confluence of talented and daring architects coupled with a hip crowd willing to take risks. Sarasota was a place in which innovation and experimentation were the order of the day, a place where an architect might run into the local watering hole to shout: "I just invented the sliding glass door." Such was the confluence of art and architecture that laid the groundwork for the Sarasota School of Architecture, so named after the fact by architect Gene Leedy at an American Institute of Architecture (AIA) conference in the 1980s to refer to the unique architecture of this region, an architecture that is wonderfully responsive to Sarasota's sub-tropical environment and which has achieved international importance for its beauty, intelligence, and style. Today, Sarasota's treasures are being rediscovered by lovers of innovative architecture, who are buying and restoring these prized homes; but also, unfortunately, by developers, who are recklessly knocking them down. Sarasota Modern, the first book of its kind to focus exclusively on this vibrant community, offers the reader an intimate look into the stunning houses as they are lived in today.

Genres: Architecture

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Topaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially a coffee table book featuring contemporary photos of these modern houses. There is a brief introduction detailing some of the history of Sarasota design but after that it is just photos of the houses with very little useful information.

There are many large color photos, both interior and exterior, but some are very poor in terms of angle, lighting, perspective, etc. It would be nice to have floor plans at a bare minimum, and it would be even better if there was more insightful information about the houses, design, and architects. The text lacks substance, often focusing on the interior furnishings or the current owners' lives.

The author is an 'expert' but not an architect with professional credentials to offer a reputable review or analysis. He also has written many other coffee books of this style, so I would not consider this a book to have in my library or something I would read or flip through more than a few times. Also, he overuses the word 'sympathetic.'

If you want to learn about the Sarasota school of architecture, it's architects, design, and philosophy, this book will fall short. It's 3.5 stars so will giver it the benefit of the doubt and round up to 4 stars.

Photos of the actual book can be found at Amazon

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 3 out of 5]

While my daughter was visiting we became interested in the mid-century modern homes in Sarasota. This book is really a “coffee table” tome, good pictures and text, just a bit too detailed. I was looking for something that cut more to the chase with addresses and locations of the homes.