The Manasota Beach pavilion is one of a group of Sarasota County beach structures that have won a 2014 Award of Excellence from the Gulf Coast chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Sweet Sparkman Architects designed this and the other public beach pavilions. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 3-8-2013.
In advance of the Sarasota Design Conference, which begins Friday morning and concludes Sunday, the Gulf Coast chapter of the American Institute of Architects will present its 2014 Design Awards at 6 p.m. Thursday May 15, at the Lido Beach Resort on Lido Key.
The guest speaker is Alastair Gordon, Contributing Editor for Architecture and Design at WSJ., the Wall Street Journal magazine. Gordon's resume includes House & Garden, Dwell and Atelier magazines, and the Princeton Papers on Architecture (1992-1995.)
He is an award-winning author, critic, curator and filmmaker who has written about environmental design issues for The New York Times, T Magazine, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Interior Design, ID Magazine, Town & Country, Le Monde and The Architect’s Newspaper, and publishes the blog of “Alastair Gordon: Wall to Wall,” surfing a line between the analytical and personal, between love and architecture.
Architect Julian Norman-Webb won an award of merit for his addition to and expansion of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Sarasota's Gulf Gate neighborhood. The award was presented by the Gulf Coast chapter of the American Institute of Architects as part of its 2014 Design Awards competition. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 5-13-2014.
Gordon has lectured at universities and museums and authored numerous critically-acclaimed books on architecture, art and urbanism including Weekend Utopia, Naked Airport, Spaced Out, Beach Houses, Romantic Modernist, Convergence and Long Island Modern, and was cited for Excellence in Architectural Criticism by the American Institute of Architects.
He is married to environmental activist and fashion designer Barbara de Vries. They have four children and live in Miami, New York City and Milford, PA.
Cover photo: The home of Gary and Beth Spencer at 101 Prospect St., Sarasota, was designed by Guy Peterson Office for Architecture, and won an award of merit in the Built Residential category from the Gulf Coast chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The AIA presented its 2014 Design Awards on Thursday, May 15, in Sarasota. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 5-7-2013.
