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Are you a fan of mid-century homes and design? Then Sarasota is the place to be in mid-November

 
Sarasota's  Umbrella House, designed by architect Paul Rudolph in 1953, is among the mid-century masterpieces spotlighted during the 3rd annual Sarasota Mod Weekend Nov. 11-13. Photo by Anton Grassi
Sarasota's Umbrella House, designed by architect Paul Rudolph in 1953, is among the mid-century masterpieces spotlighted during the 3rd annual Sarasota Mod Weekend Nov. 11-13. Photo by Anton Grassi
Published Oct. 21, 2016

On visits to Sarasota, Janet Minker and her husband enjoyed strolling through the city's Lido Shores area to ogle its stunning mid-century homes. Airy and elegantly simple, they epitomize the renowned Sarasota School of Architecture, whose most famous member, Paul Rudolph, designed the city's Umbrella House and later headed Yale University's architecture department.

Eight years ago, Minker moved from Washington, D.C., to Florida, where she has indulged her love for mid-century structures as chairwoman of the Sarasota Architectural Foundation. Started in 2001 to increase awareness of the city's important role in modern architecture, the foundation is hosting the third annual Sarasota Mod Weekend on Nov. 11-13 in partnership with the Sarasota Museum of Art.

The weekend will feature tours of mid-century homes and honor 93-year-old Victor Lundy, one of the leaders of the Sarasota School. Lundy, whose work includes Sarasota's 1956 Blue Pagoda and the '70s-era United States Tax Court building in Washington, D.C., will speak Nov. 12 at the Ringling College of Art and Design.

"He's amazing. We have long conversations on the phone, but it took some convincing to get him here,'' Minker says. "We want to make (the weekend) about him and all the remarkable work he started.''

Related: Clean lines of modern design homes emerge in traditional neighborhoods

In this interview, Minker, a graphic designer, discusses a movement whose influence can be seen more than a half-century later in some of the new homes going up in the Tampa Bay area.

Q. The New York Times recently ran a story headlined: "Why won't mid-century design die?" Why hasn't it died?

A. People are very passionate about the clean, architectural lines and design of that era. It was the heyday for incredible furniture design, from Charles and Ray Eames to Alexander Girard to Marcel Breuer. It seems that more and more these days, people relish the modernist look.

Q. How did the Sarasota School of Architecture get its start?

A. (Architect) Ralph Twitchell came to Sarasota to oversee the finishing of Cà d'Zan (home of circus magnate John Ringling). He stayed and designed very traditional homes and realized this is not the style that works for this climate. He started to work on using local materials and glass doors and really bringing the outside in. That's the whole premise of the Sarasota School. He and Paul Rudolph were partners for a few years, and Rudolph and Victor Lundy had been classmates at Harvard. That's how this whole thing started.

Q. Has Sarasota always respected its mid-century legacy?

A. Just before I moved here, (Rudolph's) Riverview High School was demolished. There was a terrific fight trying to save the building and that was a real shock. When I came here, we fought to save the Sarasota High School addition, which he designed in 1960. The school board wanted to do some drastic renovations and tear down the gym, but the community decided to save the building and it's still being used.

Q. Anything else the foundation has done to preserve the city's mid-century heritage?

A. Last year, we honored Rudolph and we constructed a replica of one of his most important Florida buildings, the (1952) Walker Guest House, on the grounds of the Ringling Museum right near the Mable Ringling Rose Garden. It's open every day, seven days a week, and it's free.

Q. Do you have a favorite mid-century house?

A. It's like choosing your favorite child, but I really, really love the Umbrella House. That's such a special building. The new homeowners had it restored just in time for Mod Weekend last year where the entire umbrella over the pool was put back in place — it had blown off in a hurricane in the 1960s. This was a momentous project and took several years working with engineers and FEMA codes, but it is a hurricane-resistant umbrella. The original structure was made of wood; this is now made out of aluminium. It is one building that we can open to the public, and we do it on a regular basis. We have tours from all over the world.

Q. Do you yourself live in an original mid-century house?

A. I don't, but we live in Lido Shores, which I'm really lucky to. I kind of feel like the Umbrella House and Walker Guest House, those are second homes because we take care of them. (The foundation) is looking to help homeowners who have questions about restoring their houses. One in particular, a really important Paul Rudolph and Ralph Twitchell (collaboration), is the Cocoon House. It's got some issues, it's over 60 years old, so we're working with the homeowner to take care of it.

Q. What do you think of the today's interpretations of mid-century homes?

A. I think it's great, it's wonderful and refreshing to see modern houses being built. We have some incredibly talented architects working in Sarasota and St. Pete and Tampa these days. I love getting away from Med-Rev — Mediterranean Revival — and what we call the "beige movement'' of contractor houses where everything is kind of cookie cutter.

Contact Susan Taylor Martin at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanskate