SCHOOLS: Sarasota, Florida
Fruitville Elementary School in Sarasota is composed of a range of historically unique buildings on its campus. Sweet Sparkman Architects provided the design and construction administration for a new classroom building, renovations of two existing buildings, and site upgrades including new parking and outdoor play areas.
The new building offers 28,000 SF of space on two stories. The first floor provides state of the art classrooms and instructional spaces for Fruitville Elementary’s highly regarded program for students with autism. The second floor of the building provides 10 new intermediate level elementary classrooms. The design of the new building draws inspiration from the diverse historic buildings on campus, ranging from a historic Mission-style building to a classic work of 1950s Sarasota modernism.
The selected location was logistically challenging, but Sweet Sparkman Architects and their engineering consultants worked with facilities and maintenance staff, as well as the construction manager, Jon F. Swift Construction, to ensure a successful design. The final result is a new classroom building that fully integrates the autistic educational program within the many activities of the school, and adds a thoughtful addition to the legacy of buildings on the Fruitville campus.
