Welcome to the Archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. The purpose of this online database is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Rudolph’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.

Unless otherwise noted, all images and drawings are copyright © The Estate of Paul Rudolph and The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. Please speak with a representative of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation to get permission to use any drawings or photos. Drawings, sketches and other materials produced by Rudolph’s architectural office at the Library of Congress are maintained there for preservation, but the intellectual property rights belong to the Paul Rudolph Estate and Ernst Wagner, founder of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation.

LOCATION
Address: 7400 Sanderling Road
City: Sarasota
State: Florida
Zip Code: 34242
Nation: United States

STATUS
Type: Leisure and Sport
Status: Built

TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1952-1953
Site Area: 52,270 s.f.
Floor Area:
Height:
Floors (Above Ground):
Building Cost:

PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client:
Architect: Paul M. Rudolph
Associate Architect:
Landscape: Edward Shields
Structural:
MEP:
QS/PM:

SUPPLIERS
Contractor: James Stroud
Subcontractor(s):

Sanderling Beach Club

In the initial project site plan, the beach club includes a concrete patio, an observatory and five single-story structures, each composed of five cabanas, facing the gulf.
The roof of each structure consists of a series of low vaulted ceilings, constructed of two thin layers of plywood sheathing.
The general contractor for the residence is James Stroud, who runs a construction firm in Sarasota. He builds several other Rudolph projects such as the 1957 Harkavy Residence and the 1953 Davis Residence. Prior to opening his own firm, James Stroud worked for Jack Twitchell’s firm Associated Builders.
In 1958, the beach club is expanded by three more structures with 5 cabanas each.
A clubhouse is not built until 1960, despite being included in Rudolph’s original design for the project site.
Rudolph is awarded an international architecture prize from the Museum of Modern Art of Sao Paulo, Brazil for the project.
In 2018, Harold Bubil, Real Estate Editor Emeritus for the Herald-Tribune, lists Sanderling Beach Club as one of his favorite buildings in Florida.

“Standard 2X4 studs 16 ft. on center with columns of “sticks” and bent plywood vaults consisting of two ¾ in. thick sheets glued together form the structure.”

— Paul Rudolph in Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl, and Gerhard Schwab. The Architecture of Paul Rudolph. New York: Praeger, 1970. P. 38