Presenting

10 | Michael Saunders & Company LEFT: The sophisticated modern design of the VUE makes a dramatic architectural statement along the Bayfront. Construction has begun with over 60% of the units under contract to date. Pre-construction opportunities available exclusively through Michael Saunders & Company. BOTTOM: Clean modern lines define this exquisite waterfront estate on Jungle Plum Road on Siesta Key featured on page 31. RIGhT: Masterful ultra modern elements are showcased in the impressive residence on Longbay Boulevard in Sarasota featured on page 49. The era stretched from 1941 to 1966 leaving an indelible mark on the city's history that still resonates today. Several prominent architects who founded the movement known as The Sarasota School of Architecture were internationally recognized visionaries of modern architecture such as Paul Rudolph. One of the youngest original members, Carl Abbott, has continued the legacy creating modern masterpieces in Sarasota and beyond for decades. It is difficult to picture Sarasota without the iconic mark of modern architecture, which has become synonymous with the area. However, the city looked much different before World War II ended and The Sarasota School of Architecture rose to prominence. The oldest buildings in Sarasota were simple wood frame structures, many of which were lost to fire. During the 1920s Florida land boom, the Mediterranean Revival style found a home in the area leaving behind the famous John Ringling mansion Ca d' Zan. By 1925, the boom went bust and little new construction occurred in Sarasota until World War II. The Sarasota School of Architecture began to emerge in the early 1940s, as a regional spin off of the modern movement that marked its birth in America with Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic masterpiece "Prairie House" in 1901. Wright's vision for residential living was uniquely American and unlike anything seen before. His "organic architecture" appeared to grow out of the landscape, a vast departure from the massive, opulent "old world" residences built for the wealthy in the 19th century. A call for modernization could be heard on both sides of the Atlantic as the first two decades of the 20th century saw a profound increase in creative output by the architectural, artistic, literary and musical communities in the United States and Europe. This extraordinarily burst of creative proliferation combined with innovation in construction materials and industrial science resulted in the redefinition of design in practically everything from office buildings to serving spoons. It was during these years in 1925 that Ralph Twitchell, known as the father of the Sarasota School of Architecture, first visited Sarasota to manage the final stages of the construction

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