Guy Wesley Peterson (born December 26, 1953) is an American architect based in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

. He has designed more than 200 structures in southwest Florida, including private and public works. Peterson was an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Florida, College of Design, Construction and Planning, and the author of ''Naked: The Architecture of Guy Peterson.'' Peterson is a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-memb ...

(FAIA) and the AIA Florida Gold Medal recipient for his architectural contributions.

Personal life, career, and influences

Peterson was born to Wesley and Joan Peterson in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

. Shortly after his birth, Peterson's physician father moved to

to open a medical practice. Living in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

, his adolescence was spent surrounded by great architecture, as the city was home to the

Sarasota School of Architecture The Sarasota School of Architecture, sometimes called Sarasota Modern, is a regional style of post-war modern architecture (1941–1966) that emerged on Florida's Central West Coast, in and around the city of Sarasota, Florida. It is characterize ...

. Peterson lived near the Sanderling Beach Club and attended high school at Riverview High School, both designed by architect Paul Rudolph. He was particularly influenced by the Syd Solomon Studio on Siesta Key by

Gene Leedy Gene Leedy (February 6, 1928 – November 24, 2018) was an American architect based in Winter Haven, Florida. He was a pioneer of the modern movement in Florida and later a founder of the Sarasota School of Architecture, whose members included P ...

. He attended college at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

earning a bachelor's degree in design and a master's degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. He opened an architecture office in Sarasota in the late 1980s, offering commercial and residential design services. Over the next four decades, Peterson designed over 200 structures in southwest Florida. Some of his private works are Spencer House, Theisen House, Freund House, Ashridge House, Durbin House, Ohana Retreat, and Anaclerio House. His public work includes Girl Scout Gulf Coast Headquarters,

Sarasota Memorial Hospital Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a publicly owned 901-bed health care facility located in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1925. The health care facility is a level II trauma center and the flagship facility of the Sarasota Memorial Health ...

Critical Care Center, SPARCC Shelter, Selby Memorial, Midway Fire Station, Longboat Key Police Station, the Elling Eide Center, and the

Nathan Benderson Park Nathan Benderson Park, previously known as North Metro Park and Cooper Creek Park, is a park in the U.S. state of Florida, owned by Sarasota County. It incorporates a artificial lake in northern Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County, direct ...

Finish Tower. Throughout his career, Peterson has done numerous

pro-bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

projects for

non-profit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, including the creation of UF CityLab Sarasota and the renovation and preservation of several historic Sarasota School designs. Peterson restored the architecturally significant Revere Quality House in 2007, and it was added to the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

the following year. He also restored the Scott Building (designed by Paul Rudolph assistants William Rupp and Joseph Farrell), converting it into the Center for Architecture Sarasota, a community-based architecture/cultural organization. Renamed the McCulloch Pavilion, the renovated work was included in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Peterson is a frequent lecturer on architecture and an adjunct professor of architecture at the

Notable career achievements

Peterson has earned more than 80 individual architectural design awards throughout his career. * He was awarded the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Florida Gold Medal in 2016. * He was elected into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 2003. * He received the AIA Florida Presidential Millennium Award of Honor for Design in 2000. * The Guy Peterson Office for Architecture was awarded the AIA Florida Firm of the Year in 2013. * He has also been recognized for career achievements by the University of Florida School of Architecture (Ivan H. Smith Eminent Chair - Endowed Professorship, Distinguished Architecture Alumnus Award, and Dean's Faculty Service Award), the Sarasota Architectural Foundation (Lifetime Achievement Award), and the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...

(Civic Achievement Award). Peterson's architecture has been featured several times on television, including

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...

’s, ''Homes Across America'' (Theisen House and Freund House) and ''Open House'' (Freund House) on SNN. In 2018, Peterson's Spencer House was selected for the television show ''

The World's Most Extraordinary Homes ''The World's Most Extraordinary Homes'' is a British documentary miniseries presented by Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin and is broadcast on BBC Two. The series was also picked up by Netflix between March 2018 and July 2022. Synopsis The do ...

'', (Season 2, Episode 4 "USA"), broadcast worldwide on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Selected architecture / design awards

The American Institute of Architects – AIA Florida – Award for Excellence in Architecture: *2017 Elling Eide Center - Honor Award of Excellence – Sarasota, Florida *2014 Spencer House – Honor Award of Excellence – Sarasota, Florida *2011 Revere Quality House Addition & Restoration - Honor Award of Excellence – Sarasota, Florida *2001 Freund House – Honor Award – Siesta Key, Florida *1999 Theisen House – Bradenton, Florida *1998 Test of Time Award of Honor In Design The American Institute of Architects (Florida) – Unbuilt Design Award: *2016 Nathan Benderson Park Finish Tower - Honor Award – Sarasota, Florida The American Institute of Architects (Florida) – Excellence for Historic Preservation and Restoration: *2015 Center For Architecture Sarasota , UF CityLab Sarasota – Honor Award – Sarasota, Florida The American Institute of Architects – Florida Gulf Coast Chapter – Award of Excellence in Architecture: *2014 Durbin House – Award of Excellence – Casey Key, Florida *2012 Spencer Residence – Award of Excellence – Sarasota, Florida *1997 Theisen House – Bradenton, Florida

References

Bibliography and media

* * * * * * * *

External links

Guy Peterson Office For Architecture website

Center For Architecture Sarasota website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Guy 1953 births Architects from Florida Modernist architects from the United States University of Florida alumni Modernist architecture in Florida People from Sarasota, Florida Living people People from Cheyenne, Wyoming Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Riverview High School (Sarasota, Florida) alumni