Created for two proponents of modern architecture and horse enthusiasts, this modern interpretation of a ranch home sits on a large East Sarasota County parcel of land. It was designed by renowned architect Carl Abbott of the Sarasota School of Architecture, who studied under Paul Rudolph at the Yale School of Architecture.
Surrounded by an ample pasture and an ancient canopy of Oaks and Sable Palms, the residence was built within inches of existing trees left on the site for shade and a feeling of indoor/outdoor living. A pitched, cantilevered, overhanging roof on different planes appears to reach up and out to the sun, and oversized glass sliders (both emblematic of the Sarasota School of Architecture) provide unrestrained visual and physical access to the landscape.
The ranch is a classic dogtrot—or breezeway—style, the entrance flanked by a screened porch and guest bedroom wing on the left with the main living quarters on the right. A car park with flat, narrow roof juts to the center of the dogtrot, resulting in a wind tunnel effect for efficient cooling. Interestingly, the simplicity of this design precipitated the complexity of the construction—a challenge MGB successfully met.