Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Sarasota. Did you know that Lido Beach’s renowned Umbrella House is of mid-century modern architecture design and “one of the five most remarkable houses of the mid-twentieth century?” as described by Architectural Digest.
In 1953, Philip Hiss, the Lido Shores real estate developer and primary catalyst of the mid-century modern architecture movement in Sarasota, hired architect Paul Rudolph, a founding member of the Sarasota School of Architecture, to create one of the 20th century’s most iconic houses. The dominant feature of the house, the aptly named “umbrella,” was initially built of wood and used to shade the house from the intense Florida sun was lost in a storm in the 1960s.
The “umbrella” over the pool was restored in 2015 by Hall Architects, receiving the 2016 Florida Trust Outstanding Award, 2016 Florida AIA Honor Award, and the 2016 Florida Gulf Coast Chapter AIA Honor Award.
Paul Rudolph designed dozens of Mid-Century Modern Architecture private homes in Florida, plus structures like Sarasota High School (now the Sarasota Art Museum of the Ringling School of Art & Design) and the Sanderling Beach Club pavilion.
Rudolph began his career in 1941 in Sarasota, Florida. He was an apprentice and later partner in Ralph Twitchell’s architectural practice in Sarasota, Florida. Together their work became known as part of the “Sarasota School” of architecture. Common characteristics of the Sarasota School of Architecture are a strict adherence to function, modular composition, articulation of individual building components, and attention to local climate and terrain. Large sunshades, innovative ventilation systems, oversized sliding glass doors, floating staircases, and walls of jalousie windows dominate many of these buildings.
Want to learn more about Mid-Century Modern Architectural Sarasota treasures? You can immerse yourself in it by attending Sarasota MOD Weekend. This yearly event offers tours and lectures of the many residences and commercial buildings in the area. 2021 event will be from November 12-14, 2021. https://www.sarasotamod.com/
Discover-mid-century-modern-architecture in Sarasota. Perhaps you’ll find an original or new-style mid-century architecture home in one of Sarasota’s neighborhoods: See what’s available
Photo Credit: Pool with slatted wood “umbrella” canopy, Rudolph’s Umbrella House. Photo: Anton Grassl