SARASOTA SCHOOL
OF ARCHITECTURE
With origins in the 1920s and 1930s and continuing today with a new generation of innovators, the Sarasota School of Architecture is a globally renowned movement in architecture and design that applies the principles of modernism to the climate, geography, and overall context of South Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The Sarasota School represents an “evolutionary rather than a revolutionary” modernism, profoundly influenced and responding to the environment and culture of place. Explore the people, projects, and events of the Sarasota School.
Umbrella House
Completed in 1953, developer and visionary Philip Hiss commissioned Paul Rudolph to design a spec home as a physical advertisement for his Lido Shores neighborhood. The dominant feature of the house is the “umbrella” — an expansive awning designed to modulate the intense Florida sun and unite the pool and home complex under one cohesive structural gesture. The original umbrella, lost during a storm in the 1960s, was carefully reconstructed in 2015, receiving multiple awards for preservation and rehabilitation from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation and the AIA.
Architecture Sarasota regularly hosts guided tours and intimate events at this internationally recognized architectural masterpiece, offering visitors the chance to experience Paul Rudolph’s innovative design firsthand and learn about one of the most important buildings in the region’s modern history.
Tour Dates (Tickets on sale 11.01.2025)
THE PAVILION
Explore the evolution of the McCulloch Pavilion, from its origins as a modern furniture showroom to its present role as the heart of Architecture Sarasota.
The Pavilion
Architecture Sarasota is situated in the rehabilitated and adaptively reused Scott Building, located at 261-265 South Orange Avenue. Between 2014 and 2015, the Center for Architecture Sarasota (one of Architecture Sarasota's legacy organizations) restored and transformed the building, including flexible lecture and program spaces, galleries, and offices.
Original Design
In 1959, Clarence Scott commissioned architects William Rupp and Joseph Farrell to design a building that would serve as the new showroom for the Barkus Furniture Company. The building is a one-story commercial structure with a flat roof and open floor plan featuring a precast concrete structural system with terrazzo floors and exposed masonry, supports, and columns.
Decline and Vision
After the Barkus Furniture Company closed, the building was purchased by Sarasota County in 1999 and converted into a print shop and mail facility. The building had fallen into disrepair when the newly-founded Center for Architecture Sarasota approached the county in 2013 with the idea of turning it into a usable gallery space.
Restoration and Partnership
The county agreed and, with funding from major donor and architecture enthusiast Nathalie McCulloch, the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse began. The renovated Scott Building reopened as the McCulloch Pavilion in October 2015.
Preservation Collaboration
Leadership at the Center for Architecture Sarasota partnered with the University of Florida School of Architecture, raised funds and underwent a sensitive adaptive reuse of the building led by Guy Peterson, FAIA, in consultation with Joseph Farrell.
EXHIBITIONS
Architecture Sarasota’s exhibitions explore the rich legacy and ongoing innovation of the built environment in Sarasota and beyond.
Modern Masterpiece Uncovered
McCulloch Pavilion
November 14, 2024 - Present
This exhibition explores the Galloway's Furniture Showroom, examining its cultural and architectural significance within the postwar era, the Sarasota School of Architecture, the pioneering work of Victor Lundy, and the vision of Ralph Galloway. Now presented in a condensed format at Architecture Sarasota’s headquarters.
Moderns That Matter: Sarasota 100
McCulloch Pavilion
March 20, 2024 - Present
With input of residents and those who care about our community, we assembled a list of 100 places and spaces that give Sarasota its sense of place and character. Organized chronologically across 10 use categories, these sites represent more than 100 years of architectural and cultural heritage and the built environment of Sarasota.
