Photo by Evan Sigmund

From the newest structures at IMG Academy to the renovated McKechnie Field and Pirate City to the dental school at Lake Erie College of Medicine, the built environment of Manatee County for years to come owes much to architect Rick Fawley. But for those who knew the community leader, it was his broad smile that most brightened the landscape. “Of course he left permanent marks in the community through his architecture, but his legacy is going to be the people he touched,” said Mary Daugherty-Slapp, executive director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange. “When he would give that famous smile with those big round checks, that’s how we are all going to remember him.”

Fawley, a founding partner at architecture firm Fawley Bryant, died Tuesday at age 65 at his home. Mike Bryant, who founded the firm with Fawley 21 years ago, said Fawley had been ill in recent days, and after he missed a meeting, the firm called neighbors to check on Fawley. The death comes less than seven months after Fawley lost his wife to illness. “Rick loved this community and loved making a difference,” Bryant recalls, "and he really thought he could make a difference.” As an architect, Fawley hated convention. Bryant said the secret to Fawley’s work was an ability to ask “what if?” and completely alter the boundaries of a project. 

Bryant said the company will retain its name. In the last couple years, Fawley Bryant has been working on a succession plan. “Rick’s passing brings it forward quicker than we thought,” Bryant said. Steve Padgett, a vice president at the company, has already taken on a greater leadership role, and Sarah Colandro and Stuart Henderson have also been put in charge of divisions at the company. In communications Thursday with clients, Bryant said, all have expressed a desire to continue work with the firm.

The death impacted the broader architecture and development community. Slapp said the death hit her particularly hard, and that Fawley was among the most reliable leaders in the county. “When you needed help for a cause, he was one of the first people you would ask.” 

Some of the projects Fawley helmed in recent years were among the most newsworthy structures in the region, such as the new Goodwill Manasota headquarters and Nathan Benderson Park. Area architects said Fawley's work was not just in designing beautiful structures but bringing a bigger vision as well. “He contributed not just to the architecture community but also to the community itself," said Lisa Hess, president of the American Institute of Architects Gulf Coast Chapter.

Photo by Evan Sigmund