- December 23, 2024
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Architecture Sarasota President Marty Hylton III feels like someone "in the right place at the right time, in terms of my areas of interest."
The aftermath of multiple hurricanes has brought significant challenges for historic buildings.
In fact, a demolition permit has been filed for the Siesta Key building Sandy Hook, one of the few residences by renowned modernist architect Victor Lundy, who died at age 101 this month.
"I hope I can bring a lot," said Hylton, who is the country's first historic architect for climate change. "I certainly bring an understanding of the recovery process itself, and particularly recovery after coastal events like hurricanes."
In fact, "Restoring a Sense of Place" was the focus of this year's Sarasota MOD Weekend, an event featuring architecture tours, discussions and more held Nov. 14 to 17.
However, a project of the same name has been underway since October, and doesn't end with the event.
According to Dave Baber, president of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, many historic buildings were damaged on the barrier islands, with water infiltration and sand, in many cases, being an issue.
"The materials that we're using now changed, the codes have changed," said architect Michael Epstein during the event "Brunch with the Bunch" during MOD Weekend on Nov. 17. "The wind blows now. Apparently, back in the old days, that wasn't a consideration."
The alliance is one of the organizations with whom Architecture Sarasota is coordinating in the recovery effort, while it also works with the municipality of Longboat Key, Sarasota County, the federal government and the National Park Service.
“Each situation is unique, each community unique, and as much as I know Sarasota, it's really understanding the character of these two disasters, what was impacted, how it was impacted, what are the challenges that people are dealing with at the moment?” Hylton said.
The "Restoring a Sense of Place" program offers four major prongs: using terrestrial LIDAR, or laser scanning, to document damage; assessing the damage, including factors like structural integrity; creating strategies of recovery; offering information on assistance to aid recovery efforts; and determining eligible properties for historic designation.
Hylton said a network of experts, including structural engineers and architectural conservators, has been assembled locally, and beyond, to help with assessments.
One of the major concerns involved is FEMA's "50% Rule," which requires that a structure be brought fully up to current building codes if the improvements exceed 50 percent of its market value in cost.
However, owners of historic buildings may not be aware of exemptions they can receive. In fact, to receive more latitude in regard to building codes, a structure doesn't have to be locally designated or entered into the National Register of Historic Places.
All that is required is a letter from the State of Florida saying it has been determined eligible for historic preservation.
"There's a kind of a shortcut process for some of them, because the clock is ticking on these and local designation can take months," Baber said.
Nonetheless, there will be some challenges in figuring out exactly how to go about restoration, Hylton said.
He said in early November that as widely celebrated as the Sarasota School of Architecture is, many of the sites he had visited did not have good documentation.
There's also the issue of finding materials that fit the historic character of buildings; the Sarasota School, Hylton said, was very innovative with its materials and building systems.
For instance, he said, many buildings by architect Ralph Twitchell use Ocala Block, a type of concrete block quarried in Ocala which was popular in Florida during the mid-century period. These soft blocks absorbed much of the floodwater, he said, but are not available on the market today.
"It's a challenge, for sure, but it's not one that can't be met,” he said of the drive for solutions.
Hylton said while he thinks many of the buildings the initiative is working with will be eligible, the future focus of Architecture Sarasota will be how buildings are adapted to meet a new climate reality.
"In some cases, it might mean elevating some, not up to, like, 15 feet, because that would be ridiculous," Baber said. "You would completely ruin the character, but elevate it enough that it might get out of harm's way of many storms."
Hylton said Sarasota has the intellectual resources it needs to meet the challenges ahead.
"Sarasota has a remarkable intellectual capacity," he said. "It's a creative arts and culture-forward community. We have this 100-year remarkable history of design in the Sarasota School, so I think that now more than ever, we need to harness these assets to re-imagine and rethink how it is that we occupy and live in this amazing coastal setting, and I'm extremely optimistic that if any community was resilient and can rise to the challenge of recovery and rebuilding, its Sarasota."
