The Sarasota School of

Architecture
An Exhibition of the University of Florida Architecture Archives,
November 2009

Paul Rudolph architect, 1953

Walker Residence,

THE SARASOTA
MODERN STYLE

Today Sarasota, Florida and the surrounding Suncoast region is well
known for its natural beauty and as a place to "live the good life." This
optimistic spirit is perhaps best expressed through the world renowned
postwar architecture that began there. The modern open interiors,
floating staircases, and jalousie windows created to take advantage of the
Gulf Coast environment, grew into an architectural movement known as
the Sarasota School of Architecture. From the 1940s through the 1960s,
this "Sarasota Modern" style was popularized by architects like Ralph
Twitchell, Paul Rudolph, Victor Lundy, Gene Leedy, and Tim Seibert.
Their works are unique in their dedication to clarity of construction,
maximum economy of means, clear geometry, honesty in details, and
simple overall volumes penetrating vertically and horizontally. Over two
decades, these principles were practiced in a way that created beautiful
churches, schools, commercial spaces, and homes around the world.
This exhibition provides a snapshot of these indigenous architectural
wonders.

Sarasota City Hall,
1965

Jack West, Architect

I"

Mr.

William Rupp and Joseph Farrell, architects

Caladesi
National Bank,
Dunedin,
Florida, 1961-62

Open Interiors

Sarasota Modern houses have minimal partitions and elevate furniture to work of art. Ralph Twitchell,
the father of this style, attended the first landscape architecture class offered in the United States, and
pioneered the extensive use of glass in his houses. The following slides offer some examples of these
characteristics. Photo Denman residence, Siesta Key, 1946, architect, Paul Rudolph, associate

Deering
Residence,
Casey Key,
Florida,
1959-1960

Paul Rudolph, architect

Seibert
Residence,
Siesta Key,
Florida,
1951-1952

Tim Seibert, architect

RALPH TWITCHELL
1890- 1978

Pioneer of the modern style, Twitchell created some
of the earliest structures that came to represent the
Sarasota Modern style. Twitchell employed large glass
windows and sliding doors in conjunction with a heavy
cypress interior to create a natural feeling that
focused the inhabitant on the outdoors. Additionally,
he often used a locally manufactured limestone brick
on the exterior. Because of this, the sand colored
bricks blended into the sandy Florida ground and
appeared to rise out of it.

Ralph Twitchell

Healy Guest House

Ralph
Twitchell

Paul Rudolph

HEALY GUEST HOUSE
Or Cocoon House

Twitchell and Rudolph first attracted the
attention of architectural critics with this
structure built in 1949. It is also known as the
Cocoon House, due to the use of flexible
insulating mats between fiberboard for the roof,
similar to the way the U.S. Navy "cocooned"
unneeded ships for peacetime storage. This
house is designated as an American Treasure by
the Library of Congress.

PAUL RUDOLPH

1918-1997

If Twitchell was the father of the Sarasota School
of Architecture, then Rudolph was its "spiritual
leader." Following education at Auburn and
Harvard and service in World War II, he was
Twitchell's partner for four years before starting
his own practice in 1951. He became the most
renowned of the group, even serving as the
Dean of the Yale School of Architecture from
1957 1965 while designing a new building for it
in the process.

Paul Rudolph

Sarasota High School

Rudolph's addition was constructed 1958 59

............

...... ....

Milam Residence

Jacksonville, Florida, 1960; Paul
Rudolph, architect

Photo by Ezra Stoller

Paul Rudolph, architect (Photo by Ezra Stoller)

VICTOR LUNDY

Fellow Harvard graduate and Gropius student
Victor Lundy got his start in Sarasota through an
art show in which he was asked to paint his idea
of what a particular site evoked. His innovative
roof designs became a memorable feature of the
"Sarasota Modern" style. This feature is most
dramatic in Lundy's church designs. Lundy's
stunning visual effects are visible in his projects
throughout the world, ranging from churches to
embassies.

Victor Lundy

St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Sarasota,

1958

Victor Lundy, architect

1970

Bee Ridge Presbyterian Church, Sarasota,
1956

Victor Lundy,

architect

Venice Presbyterian

Church,

Venice, Florida,

Victor Lundy, architect

1956

FURTHER READING AND
RESEARCH

Sarasota School of Architecture

Architects

0

UF
UNIVERSITY of
FLORIDA