Prominent Sarasota architecture nonprofit names first president

After its founding two years ago, Architecture Sarasota is finally ready for its first president. 

Architect and historic preservationist Morris "Marty" Hylton III has stepped into the role with a goal of supporting the organization’s commitment of preserving and promoting design innovations, a press release states.

The nonprofit was founded in 2021 when Center for Architecture Sarasota and Sarasota Architecture Foundation merged, both focused on continuing the Sarasota School of Architecture’s legacy.

Courtesy photo

The new role is a sort of professional homecoming for Hylton. Not only is he a longtime Architecture Sarasota collaborator, but he is also credited with co-founding one of the organization’s marquee events back in 2013. 

“I’ve been preparing for this job for four decades,” Hylton says in a statement. “Throughout the years, I have found myself returning to Sarasota, which, in my research as well as my preservation and advocacy work, began figuring as a kind of laboratory of experimental and innovative design that was climate responsive and intended to be accessible to all people and communities regardless of ability. 

“It is my belief that, in upholding this local legacy, Architecture Sarasota and I will do our part in facilitating global conversations that continue to inspire architects to work closely with a broad range of stakeholders to design with the climate instead of against it.”

One of his career highlights includes the time when Hylton helped develop and launch the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk Program with the goal to preserve landmark buildings. He spearheaded a collaboration with the Sarasota Architectural Foundation, Architecture Sarasota’s predecessor, to save Paul Rudolph’s Riverview High School. But the school, which opened in 1958, was demolished shortly after the program began. 

“The demolition of Riverview High School felt like a wake-up call, demonstrating the need for preservation initiatives and advocates,” Hylton says in the release. “From Miami to Myanmar, my work has engaged stakeholders globally to develop strategies for protecting cultural heritage while reimagining historic places and communities impacted by development, a changing climate, and other threats. I am honored to have the opportunity to bring these experiences to Sarasota.”