From Disaster to Award-Winning Design

From Disaster to Award-Winning Design. . On June 17, 1955, a fire "of undetermined origin" raced through several of the attractive, 1949 Spanish-style buildings, including the gift shop, café, and offices. Victor A. Lundy, an architect from Sarasota, was selected to design the new buildings. His design won two awards. The first was in the recreation category sponsored by Progressive Architecture, a national magazine, in 1956. In 1959, he received an Award of Merit in the American Institute of Architects' national competition , the only Florida project to be recognized., Mr. Lundy served in the U.S. Army as a replacement soldier during World War II, after D-Day in 1944. More interested in architecture and drawing, he said, "I never listened; I was busy sketching." He and eight sketchbooks survived, providing insight into his early skills. The drawings are now part of the Library of Congress., After the war, Mr. Lundy completed a degree in architecture from Harvard, and in 1954, opened an architectural firm in Sarasota, Florida. He was instrumental in developing a post-war style called "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 Mr. Lundy's work, most striking in his church designs. His projects can be found around the world and also 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 furniture showroom in Sarasota for which he received the 1960 Gold Medal for Achievement in the Building Arts.