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“IT IS AGAINST A WHITE SURFACE THAT ONE BEST APPRECIATES THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, SOLIDS AND VOIDS.”

Richard Meier
THE SARASOTA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

The iconic structures of the Sarasota School of Architecture created the built landmarks of this seaside idyll and a new vocabulary for the mid-century modern movement. This work is honored and reinterpreted for a luxurious new age at EPOCH – minimalism, purity of form, and timeless elegance.

The architects of the Sarasota School approached their work with creativity and innovation. A growing set of principles with an international foundation, their designs appropriately responded to our climate and the rare quality of light. Theirs, like ours, was a vision of life without borders that reflected the sensibilities of the era’s unprecedented prosperity and potential.

The enduring influence of these architects is found both on the exterior and interior of EPOCH. As did the work of these innovators, so too can one imagine the architecture at EPOCH will inspire not only its owners but future generations.

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A Video Introduction to the Sarasota School of Architecture

Sometimes we have to explore the past to find inspiration for the future. At its most noble, architecture is the embodiment of our values.

Norman Foster
THE EVOLUTION OF SARASOTA MODERNISM

While pioneering designers Le Corbusier, Wright, Mies van der Rohe and students of the Bauhaus school were experimenting with completely new ideas of space and form, the Sarasota School brought elements together in an approachable and lasting way. Their style added a play of light and shadow. The color and texture of indigenous materials softened the cold European aesthetic. Importantly, theirs recognized the sense of place, harmony with the setting, and above all, the use of the prevailing breeze and sunlight — the very essence of EPOCH.

“Sarasota in the 1950s was one of the most important places in the world for architectural creativity, where the greatest design movements of the day came together.”

Carl Abbott FAIA
Original member of the Sarasota School of Architecture
When considering today’s most noteworthy and published architecture, one immediately sees the legacy of Paul Rudolph, Ralph Twitchell, William Rupp, Victor Lundy, Jack West, Gene Leedy and Carl Abbott… the leading names of the Sarasota School. Their work can be appreciated throughout Sarasota, including the historic and now preserved Umbrella House on Lido Shores. Rudolph’s work included commissions worldwide, including the renowned Yale Art and Architecture Building.

Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.

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