Built in 1960 on Siesta Key, this midcentury modern, if not designed by Ralph Twitchell, was inspired by Twitchell's work. Staff photo / Harold Bubil
It is going to be one busy month for local architecture aficionados.
The October calendar is marked with not one, but two celebrations of building design. The Center for Architecture Sarasota is holding its second annual “ARCHtober” event, with two lectures, a home tour and a visit to two design studios.
Previously announced in this column, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation, which is not associated with CFAS, is holding its first Sarasota MOD Weekend, patterned after Palm Springs Modernism Week in California, Oct. 9-12.
CFAS is partnering with the Gulf Coast chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In addition to the lectures and tours, the festival includes an online “Building a Day” presentation throughout the month.
ARCHtober begins with a reception Oct. 1 at CFAS headquarters in the 1960 Scott Building, 265 S. Orange Ave., Sarasota. Christopher Silver, dean of the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning, and Jason Alread, the new director of UF’s School of Architecture, are the special guests.
The event will mark CFAS’ first anniversary.
Other events:
• Oct. 7 — A lecture by Michael Pyotek, an architect and professor for more than 45 years in New York City and an expert in the design of public housing. Since 1984, his firm has designed more than 35,000 units of affordable housing. In 2001, Harvard appointed him its Buchsbaum Visiting Professor of Affordable Housing, and, in 2013, the AIA awarded him its Thomas Jefferson Award.
• Oct. 16 — A lecture by landscape architect Thomas Balsley, of Thomas Balsley Associates in New York City. He is known for landscape urbanism within public parks, which he believes are among society’s truest forms of democracy. Balsley has completed more than 100 parks and plazas, including a park named for him.
• Oct. 22 — “Atelier Talk,” a visit to the offices of CMSA Architects and DWY Landscape Architects. This is the first of a monthly series developed by CFAS to visit the studios of architects and designers. First up is a tour of the studios of architect Clifford M. Scholz and landscape architect David W. Young.
• Oct. 26 — “House Tour,” a visit to The Nautilus, by architect Carl Abbott. This is a members-only tour of the residence of Mel and Gary Schmidt. Built in 2000, this geometrically elegant home overlooks Sarasota Bay in the Coral Cove neighborhood. The Schmidts recently presented $10,000 to CFAS.
Tickets range from $10 to $25 per event, and are available through the Center for Architecture Sarasota website (www.CFASrq.org).
