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Sarasota Modern: The Sarasota School of Architecture, 1941-1966

 

An exhibition curated by Timothy Fritz with guidance from John Nemmers, Cindy Peterson, and John Howey.
University of Florida Smathers Library Second Floor Exhibit Gallery
November 11 - December 24, 2009 Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 4:45 pm

"The years: 1941 to 1966. The place: Sarasota, Florida. The story: a sudden burst of fresh, innovative houses and buildings by a group of Americans who caught the imagination of the international architectural community. Influenced by local climate, construction practices, regional culture, and Florida life-style, the work of the Sarasota school of architecture marks a high point in the development of regional modernism in American architecture." Although the Sarasota school, also known as "Sarasota Modern," wasn't a consciously organized movement, it was an important chapter in American modernism led by practitioners such as Ralph Twitchell, Paul Rudolph, Victor Lundy, Tim Seibert, Jack West, Gene Leedy, Philip Hiss, and Mark Hampton.

John Howey's Sarasota School of Architecture Collection was acquired by the University of Florida Architecture Archives in 2009. As a partnership between the George A. Smathers Libraries and the School of Architecture since 2004, the Architecture Archives has become a leading repository for historical records pertaining to the architects and architecture of Florida.

John Howey, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, has practiced architecture in the Tampa Bay region since 1965. In the 1990s, he began writing and lecturing about Sarasota architecture, culminating in the 1995 publication of his book, The Sarasota School of Architecture, 1941-1966 (M.I.T. Press).

In 1996, John Howey created an exhibition featuring many of the photographs, models and drawings included in the book. The Howey Collection in the Architecture Archives includes the objects from the 1996 exhibition, as well as research materials on the Sarasota architects and their buildings. This University of Florida exhibition includes a selection of models, photographs and other documents from the Howey Collection. The exhibits demonstrate many of the characteristics and practices associated with the Sarasota school: attention to terrain, large glass doors and windows, natural ventilation, and shades, shutters and jalousie windows.

An Opening Reception will be held November 18, 2009 2-4 pm with special guest speaker, John Howey.

A complementary Sarasota Modern presentation is available online. The online presentation features images from the exhibition as well as additional images and text. [Note: This PDF file is 4MB in size, which may affect download time.]

A rotating 360 degree view of the architectural model for Paul Rudolph's Walker Guest House is available online. The model was imaged by staff members of the UF Digital Library Center, and is made available as part of the UF Digital Collections.

Special thanks to: John Howey, Cindy Peterson, Alicia Antone, Gail Crawford, Bill Hanssen, Barbara Hood, Martha Kohen, Matthew Mariner, Randall Renner, Lourdes Santamaria-Wheeler, Laurie Taylor, Phat Tran and staff members of Special Collections for help with this exhibition. For more information contact: John Nemmers at 352 273-2766 or John Nemmers.

 

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