Photo of Sarasota local and principal Max Strang inside Pansy Bayou's downtown studio, courtesy of Wyatt Kostygan.

An exclusive party and presentation was hosted yesterday evening, by/at Pansy Bayou Design Studio to spotlight the portfolio of founding principal Max Strang of STRANG Design. Meanwhile, Strang displayed his two published opuses Rockhouse and Environmental Modernism for purchase and book signing. Packing in to the studio, Sea Grape Wine Company provided the wine, while new mobile bar The Wandering Whale bartended outside. Graphic artist John Pirman, designer Charlotte Osterman, SAF Chairman of the Board Christopher Wilson, Umbrella House owner Anne Essner, international developers and more were amongst the crowd mingling over the shared passion for mindful, modern design.

“We’re pleased to welcome our new neighbor in the hood and happy to have him here to represent in the home design community,” says Ellen Hanson, Owner of Pansy Bayou Design Studio. Hanson met with Strang over coffee upon his move to Sarasota and loved his old-fashioned tactics and vernacular style—nodding particularly to the fact that he is one of the few architects who still sketches out his designs entirely by hand, before digitizing them into a computer-aided 3D program. “I love when I actually get onto the paper—it’s not all about the fancy computer stuff," he says. "The art part of architecture is really important to me and the art of drawing is something that should not be lost.” A recent gallery showcased STRANG’s intricate sketches and photography, which are now found through his books.

Strang’s candid presentation clicked through aerial and interior shots of the house he designed and raised his children in Coconut Grove—made famous as “the drug lord’s house” in the film Miami Vice. Further renderings of past projects displayed STRANG’s journey—beginning in Miami, expanding to Fort Lauderdale and most recently, opening a satellite office in Rosemary’s newly-developed BOTA center. When asked by the audience how he ended up from the east coast of Florida to the gulfside, he shared stories and photos of his relationship/inspiration of Sarasota School of Architecture (SSA) founder, family-friend and mentor Gene Leedy. “When I was a kid, I was hearing about people like Paul Rudolph, and when most kids my age at 10 or 12 had posters of sports teams or Farrah Fawcett hanging on their walls, I had a Syd Soloman poster,” he laughs. “So Sarasota has always been a respectable and special place for me.”

Strang ended the presentation with an announcement of his current and most proud project—spearheading the purchase and restoration of the late Gene Leedy’s iconic mid-century modern house. “We’re going to try and bring it back to life,” he says. “We’re going to make it look like you’re stepping back in time.”

Photo of Sarasota local and principal Max Strang inside Pansy Bayou's downtown studio, courtesy of Wyatt Kostygan.

Rockhouse and Environmental Modernism books found here.