Sarasota 2013

Docomomo US National Symposium
Sarasota, Florida - April 18-21, 2013

 

Docomomo US hosted its first National Symposium, "Modern Matters," in 2013, in collaboration with Docomomo US/Florida, the Paul Rudolph Foundation, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation, and University of Florida Historic Preservation Program.

The Symposium kicked off on Thursday April 18th at the Herald Tribune Building in downtown Sarasota with a reception and Keynote address by Docomomo US President Theodore Prudon. The four-day event included five sessions, two tours, and a variety of special events such as a reception at the Sanderling Beach Pavilion, a historic beach club designed in 1952 by Paul Rudolph, a closing reception at Home Resource, the leading contemporary furniture showroom in Sarasota and Southwest Florida, which had the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk exhibition mounted for the event, and an exclusive book talk and reception on the life and work of Horace Gifford with author and architect Christopher Rawlins.

Welcome Message:

Welcome to the first annual Docomomo US National Symposium: Modern Matters in Sarasota, Florida. We are delighted to have so many of you join us in for our first national event as well as in the celebration of the unique architecture of Sarasota and modernism throughout the country. For this we could not have picked a better location than Sarasota with its wealth of significant Modern architecture designed by well-known architects of the mid-twentieth century. Many of the buildings of the Sarasota School of Architecture are particularly appropriate in our discussions today as they are designed in response to Florida's climate and post-war lifestyle.

The symposium will present a synopsis of what the preservation of modern architecture in the US means today and provide some thoughts on what lies ahead. Presentations will be both by Docomomo US chapter members and others active in the field. It will also confirm Docomomo US’ leadership role in the US today.

Whether during the tours, receptions or the thought-provoking topics being presented during the formal sessions, we urge local guests, our members and their chapters to share your knowledge and experience, and advance the preservation of modern architecture intellectually and professionally. As a collaborative effort between our national office, Docomomo US/Florida, the University of Florida's Historic Preservation Program, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation and the Sarasota County Historical Resources, we would like to thank our sponsors included in this program, our local hosts and organizers, our presenters and everyone who helped make this event so successful. We look forward to continuing this conversation in Sarasota and across the country.

-Theodore H.M. Prudon, President, Docomomo US