SarasotaMOD Weekend will celebrate architect Tim Seibert

Edward J. “Tim” Seibert is the retired founder and principal architect of Seibert Architects. He’s made his mark on Sarasota with his bold, modernist structures.

Growing up in Sarasota, I knew the work before I knew the man.

The swooping balconies of the Bay Plaza Condominium in downtown Sarasota.

The AIA award-winning John D. MacDonald house on Siesta Key — a tough-minded home for a tough-minded author.

The floating poetry of the Hiss Studios on Lido Shores. Its walls of glass and concrete as perfectly proportioned as a Mondrian painting.

The monolithic brute concrete of the Siesta Key Beach Pavilion.

Years later, I learned the architect’s name. And learned that, when I needed a spicy quote on architecture, Seibert was the man to call.

Sarasota Architectural Foundation will honor Seibert’s legacy at its fourth annual SarasotaMOD Weekend showcasing our region’s midcentury modern architecture. 

SAF will honor Seibert with its Art + Architecture Lifetime Achievement award at its opening night party. As the weekend unfolds, there’ll be guided walk-throughs of Seibert’s signature structures, along with an exhibit of his models and award-winning yacht designs at the Blue Pagoda building.

SAF’s peripatetic celebration will also include trolley tours of Seibert’s lesser-known residential jewels, and a self-guided walking tour of the Rosemary District, Seibert Architects’ neighborhood. (And in case you’re curious about Seibert’s biography, Olivia Craig, an architectural design intern at Seibert Architects, painted his life story on an Eames’ “Scoop” chair of molded plastic. It’s part of an exhibit of 10 artistically transformed Eames chairs on display — and for sale — at Home Resource as an SAF fundraiser.) 

Seibert will also join other architects in a panel discussion of midcentury modern architecture. Together with Joyce Owens, the AIA Florida president, Seibert will also answer audience questions in a lively Q&A. I guarantee he won’t be at a loss for words.

Janet Minker is an SAF board member and the driving force behind the SarasotaMOD Weekend. 

“Tim was incredibly prolific in the midcentury period,” she says. “And it was an incredibly prolific time! Sarasota experienced an explosion of creativity — not only in modernist architecture, but in the circus arts, visual arts and literature as well. There truly were giants in those days. Tim held his own with the best of them and made his mark on our community. He’s a thoroughly modern man — and a Renaissance man as well.”

To learn more about Seibert, read his biography by the Sarasota Architecture Foundation.