| ARCHITECTURE | Operable windows, sliding doors, and screen porches on each side of the building bring cross-ventilation to the Phillippi Creek House in Sarasota by Damien Blumetti.
left: From Damien Blumetti, the Siesta Key Bay House
left: In addition to spearheading
maximizes water views without sacrificing privacy.
his own firm, Damien Blumetti is president of the AIA Florida Gulf Coast chapter and an adjunct professor at the University of Florida School of Architecture.
The generational club continues with Max Strang and Jerry Sparkman, who are just as fascinated with the founding principles. Strang was influenced the most by Gene Leedy. “I was surrounded by Gene’s work and lived in one of his houses,” he explains. “I interned for Leedy before going to grad school and my parents had a beach house on Casey Key next door to Gene—it was as if I couldn’t escape it!” His admiration since has only increased. “Because I grew up surrounded by the architecture, I thought it was normal; it wasn’t until later that I realized how extraordinary it was,” he explains. “It’s still extraordinary given the current climate considerations we’re dealing with, which makes it as relevant as ever.” Sparkman, who worked for Frank Folsom Smith, calls the Sarasota School “a teaching body of work,” which he illustrates by describing a recent experience. “A young architect from New Mexico came to interview with our firm,” he explains. “He didn’t know about the Sarasota School, so I took him on the Architecture Sarasota tour. After seeing the buildings, he said he was determined to work for us so he could learn more about them.” Damien Blumetti is a member of the newest generation to take up the cause. A Sarasota native, he came to appreciate the ideals of the Sarasota School by interning with and being a member of Guy Peterson’s architectural practice for a decade. “There is such a rich lineage of architecture in this community,” says Blumetti, “and I feel like a direct link in that, which is a big responsibility I gladly accept.” Peterson, who has watched the historical architecture realize greater interest since he founded his practice in the late 1980s, says, “The continuing legacy it inspires has made Sarasota a destination, just like mid-century modern architecture has done for Palm Springs.” Strang adds, “Here we are, 80-plus years later and the Sarasota School has been a testimony to the enduring principles it adopted—regional modernism is continuing as more of the best architects in Florida are adopting it today.”
SIESTA KEY BAY HOUSE PHOTOS BY RYAN GAMMA; PHILLIPPI CREEK HOUSE RENDERING & DAMIEN BLUMETTI PHOTO COURTESY OF DAMIEN BLUMETTI ARCHITECT; ROCK HOUSE PHOTO BY CLAUDIO MANZONI; MAX STRANG PHOTO COURTESY OF ARCHITECT
With the Siesta Key Bay House, the South American homeowners asked Blumetti to design a home with an honest and straightforward material palette that would respond to the site and its lush landscape, as well as give them unobstructed views of Robert’s Bay.
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