Sarasota has been a mecca for those seeking a higher education with a unique focus. With the honor’s New College of Florida, Ringling School of Art & Design, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and the State College of Florida Sarasota, Florida offered most any curriculum a student would want. The Sarasota County Technical Institute has just been revamped and renovated and renamed to Suncoast Technical College.
And now the University of Florida is bringing their first to Southwest Florida with CityLab Sarasota, an extension campus for students working to earn master’s degrees in architecture. With the help of Guy Peterson, well known Sarasota architect and professor of architecture at UF, CityLab will have 7 students beginning their two-year master’s program this fall, but Peterson hopes as many as 24 students will study in Sarasota within the next few years.
The building on Orange Ave in which CityLab Sarasota is located will also house the nonprofit Center for Architecture — Sarasota, which helped raise money for the building’s restoration. The organization of 300 members, according to Shelby Webb of the Herald Tribune, will distribute $14,500 in scholarships among the seven incoming students.
Considering Sarasota, Florida has some of the most interesting and unique architecture and history preserved in building such as the Ringling Mansion, the Ca D’zan and the Paul Rudolph designed portions of Sarasota High School, this is a perfect fit for students and a great influx of talent to our area. “These aren’t just academic projects. Here we want to work with the city and county to look at how we can help with projects like connecting downtown to the Bayfront for the 20:20 initiative,” Peterson said, referring to Bayfront 20:20, an effort to build public consensus on the redevelopment of Sarasota Bayfront. Fresh ideas may add to the initiative and bring about needed changes.