Architectural groups build a foundation of knowledge

Considering the diverse array of work the Center for Architecture is coordinating — public exhibits, lectures and discussions, walking tours, historic preservation, collaboration with educators — it’s easy to forget the organization held a grand opening just two years ago.

And yet, founder Cynthia Peterson and the board of directors are not content. In February, the board hired Peterson to serve as its CEO. The transition from volunteer to full-time leader — Peterson previously chaired the board — reflects the group’s growing ambitions. Peterson said she wants the Center for Architecture to be a premier design organization — not just locally, but nationally.

“If someone comes to our community and wants to know what’s going on in that realm, we want to be the destination where they come,” Peterson said.

So what does growth look like for an organization with such a broad mission? Peterson already has a to-do list. It includes expanding the Center for Architecture’s children’s programming, working with local educators. She also wants to draw on her archival experience to develop a collection of key historical architectural documents.

“Many times, that history is destroyed — way too often, in Florida,” she said. “Our history itself has been a frangible history.”

But the organization isn’t just dwelling on the past. Peterson sees the center as an opportunity to learn from the past, apply it to the present and figure out how people can come together to affect the future.

Bringing people together is one of the primary missions of the Center for Architecture. Peterson guessed that 90% of the attendees at the group’s events were not architects. This is an exciting opportunity, she said. The center can serve as a venue for designers to engage with the people who will use their work, or for residents to share their thoughts on architecture before a building is constructed.

“We’re the organization that highlights, emphasizes and distributes this information to the community,” Peterson said. “We’re not the architects. We’re not the designers. We’re not the city. We’re this neutral place.”

She uses the redevelopment of the city-owned bayfront land around the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall as an example of how she envisions the center fitting into the larger civic picture.

Last year, students at CityLab Sarasota, the University of Florida School of Architecture’s local satellite program that partners with the Center for Architecture, designed their vision for how the bayfront should be redeveloped.

The Center for Architecture displayed the models to the public, hoping to get residents thinking about the possibilities for the project. Peterson wants to keep that energy going as the planning process evolves — and to foster similar conversations for other high-profile projects.

So far, Peterson said, residents have shown an interest in having those conversations. The Center for Architecture has more than 500 members. The public interest in architecture isn’t surprising to Peterson. It’s a natural subject for people to feel strongly about, she said, even if they’re not experts.

“Design affects every aspect of our humanity,” Peterson said. “It’s there from birth to death.”

The Modern Age

For more than 15 years, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation has been undertaking its own education and advocacy efforts, albeit with a narrower focus.

The foundation was born out of a five-day symposium on the Sarasota School of Architecture, the midcentury modern movement that became a defining part of the region’s design legacy. Today, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation still largely focuses on preserving and promoting that modern style.

The foundation is also transitioning from an all-volunteer group to one with a paid leader. In March, the group hired Tammy Hauser as executive director. Hauser, the CEO of arts nonprofit consulting firm Blue Sky Thinking, came aboard to help take the organization to the “next stage.”

Janet Minker, chairwoman of the foundation’s board of directors, said the group’s highest-profile work involves tours of noteworthy local structures — but her passion is preservation. She joined the board in 2012 to help preserve the Sarasota High School Addition, designed by Sarasota School icon Paul Rudolph.

She hopes hiring Hauser will help the board do more work with people who own historic homes, preserving and rehabilitating the city’s midcentury architectural legacy. As the Sarasota Architectural Foundation has promoted that legacy, Minker has found homeowners are eager to participate in those efforts.

“Our experience, especially recently, is the people who buy these houses understand and appreciate them and do their best to try to bring it back,” Minker said.

An example is Bob and Anne Essner, residents who purchased and restored the Rudolph-designed Umbrella House on Lido Shores, one of the most important Sarasota School structures. The Essners work closely with the foundation — Anne Essner is on the board of directors — and offer the home for regular tours.

Giving the public firsthand experience with premier examples of midcentury architecture helps illustrate the value of the design, Minker said. Actually walking through the houses gives you a sense of the minimalist ethos, on the relationship between the built space and the natural environment. Even longtime residents come away from a tour with a renewed appreciation for local architecture.

“You just have to keep talking about it,” Minker said.

The foundation also isn’t just looking backward — the group works with local architects to discuss how midcentury concepts can be applied to modern design. Javi Suarez, an architect with Apex-Studio Suarez and president of the American Institute of Architects Gulf Coast Chapter, said the public engagement these groups foster helps the design community work more effectively.

“It’s obviously quite helpful to architects in our profession to have more people educated, in terms of what we do and the quality of our work,” Suarez said.

Both Peterson and Minker said the interest in architecture is particularly potent as Sarasota goes through a period of growth, and many residents fear losing the connection to the past. In pursuing their missions, both organizations hope to serve as a conduit linking the region’s architectural history to its architectural future.

“We don’t want to tear these down,” Minker said. “It’s a heritage for Sarasota — we’re famous for it. We just need people to be aware.”