Historian and author Jeff LaHurd of the Sarasota County History Center.
Speakers at the Sarasota MOD Weekend, Feb. 9-12, presented by the Sarasota Architectural Foundation:
- Keynote presenter Lawrence Scarpa, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is a principal of Brooks + Scarpa Architects of Los Angeles. The firm was chosen as the 2014 Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award Winner in Architecture. Scarpa is known for creatively using conventional materials, and is a leading proponent of sustainable design. His topic is “Experiential Transformations.”
- Edward J. “Tim“ Seibert, FAIA, is the retired founder and principal architect of Seibert Architects. The Sarasota region abounds with examples of his bold, mid-century modernist design, including the Siesta Beach Pavilion, the Hiss Studio in Lido Shores, Bay Plaza condominium and many projects for Arvida Corp. on Longboat Key. An AIA “Test of Time” winner for the John D. MacDonald House and the Cooney house, he began his career as a draftsman in Paul Rudolph’s office.
- Carl Abbott, FAIA, honorary chairman of Sarasota MOD Weekend, is one of the original members of the Sarasota school of architecture and has had his own firm in Sarasota since 1966. He has won dozens of architecture awards and has designed such local landmarks as St. Thomas More Church, the Women’s Resource Center and the Putterman House in Lido Shores. His awards from AIA-Florida include the Medal of Honor for Design, the Architectural Firm Honor Award, and the greatest number of Test of Time Awards ever presented for “architectural designs of enduring significance.” He is a tireless advocate for modern architecture and its preservation.
- John Howey, FAIA, is principal of John Howey Associates in Tampa and the author of “The Sarasota School of Architecture, 1941-96.” In 2000, he won the AIA’s Award of Design as one of Florida’s top 20th-century design firms.
- Jeff LaHurd is a history specialist at the Sarasota County History Center, and an author of many books about Sarasota’s cultural history. He is a regular contributor to the Herald-Tribune. In May 2014, LaHurd received the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s Individual Distinguished Service award.
- Raymond Jungles, FASLA, PLA, is a landscape architect in Miami who has worked on several projects for architects in Sarasota.
- Dan Webre is a project architect at Anik Pearson Architect in New York City and co-director of The Paul Rudolph Foundation.
- Sean Khorsandi is an architect at Samuel Anderson Architects in New York City and has been involved with the Paul Rudolph Foundation since 2006.
- Morris Hylton III is assistant professor of interior design and director of historic preservation at the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning. A historian of midcentury design, he curated a recent exhibit called “Modernism at Risk” for the World Monuments Fund.
- Joyce Owens, AIA, is an architect and newspaper columnist in Fort Myers.
- Alastair Gordon, a resident of Miami, is an award-winning author, critic, curator and filmmaker. He has written about art, architecture and the environment for The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Interior Design, Town & Country, House & Garden and Dwell. He is a contributing editor at WSJ, the Wall Street Journal magazine, and is the author of numerous books on architecture, art and urbanism.
- Sam Holladay, AIA, Pam Holladay, ASID, and Michael Epstein, AIA, are the core of Seibert Architects in Sarasota. Sam Holladay is the principal architect, while Epstein is an architect and Pam Holladay an interior designer.
- Lorrie Muldowney, AICP, associate AIA, is a historical preservation specialist for the Sarasota County History Center. She has worked in Sarasota County government since 1993 and is a leading proponent and community resource for preservation.
- Christopher Wilson teaches architecture and design history at Ringling College of Art + Design. He has been a board member of the Sarasota Architectural Foundation since 2012.
- Joe King is co-author of “Paul Rudolph: The Florida Houses” and an architect, contractor and developer in Manatee County. He also wrote “Tour Venice Architecture.”
- Christine Madrid French is an advocate for the study and preservation of American modern buildings. She is the curator of history at the Art and History Museums-Maitland, near Orlando.
- Harold Bubil is real estate editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and also covers architecture and design through words and photographs.
