From Disaster to Award-Winning Design

On June 17, 1955, a fire of undetermined origin raced through several attractive 1949 Spanish-style buildings, including the gift shop, café, and offices. Victor A. Lundy, an architect from Sarasota, was chosen to design the replacement buildings, and his design won two awards: first place in the recreation category sponsored by Progressive Architecture in 1956, and an Award of Merit in the American Institute of Architects' national competition in 1959, the only Florida project to be recognized. Lundy had served in the U.S. Army as a replacement soldier during World War II after D-Day in 1944, and although he said he was more interested in architecture and drawing than in listening, eight of his sketchbooks survived and are now part of the Library of Congress. After the war, he earned a degree in architecture from Harvard and opened an architectural firm in Sarasota, Florida, in 1954. He was instrumental in developing the post-war style known as Sarasota Modern, characterized by open interiors, jalousie windows, glass sliding doors, vertical and horizontal lines, and geometric shapes. Innovative roof designs with dramatic curves and laminate beams became the distinctive feature of his work, especially in his church designs. His projects were built around the world and included the 1966 World's Fair, the IBM headquarters in Cranford, New Jersey, the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce building, now the Visitor Information Center, the Warm Mineral Springs Motel near Venice, Florida, and a Sarasota furniture showroom that received the 1960 Gold Medal for Achievement in the Building Arts.

Silver Springs, Florida · United States