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Celebrate 40 Years with Reflections on Seaside at Sundog Books b y A n n e H u n t e r | P h o t o g r a p h y b y J a c k G a r d n e r
Image courtesy of Thadani Architects + Urbanists
W ith a nod to His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales, stop by Sundog Books to purchase your copy of Reflections on Seaside, by architect, author, and urbanist Dhiru A. Thadani. It is the sequel to Visions of Seaside, the comprehensive book that chronicled the evolution and development of Seaside, Florida’s first 30 years. Visions of Seaside examined the history and background of the town’s progenitors, the circumstances that brought them together, and the evolution of the plan. With a forward written by HRH, Reflections on Seaside celebrates the fortieth anniversary of the town that has inspired countless designers, architects, urban planners, and everyday citizens in the search for the ideal hometown. The sequel features, among other elements, new projects built in and around the town since the publication of the first book in 2013. A host of contributors share experiences from their visits to Seaside and the influence it has had on their personal and professional lives in the new book, which illuminates the embodied ideas that are the genius of the town. These ideas form a rich repository of knowledge to be shared and emulated in the numerous communities being built in the United States and abroad. Additionally, several new urbanist projects are featured that would not have been built if not for Seaside, proving that the fulfilled dream of the world’s first new urbanist town has had a profound influence on town planning practice and the resurgence of place-making in the built environment. The visions of the Davis Family, as the town founders, are highlighted and serve as a blueprint for moving forward into a sustainable future. New essays by
inspired by Seaside to develop new towns in the UK and wisely chose Léon Krier to master plan his projects, as Krier is the spiritual godfather of new urbanism and an early consultant to Robert and Daryl Davis and the design team of Seaside. The introduction by Joseph P. Riley Jr., an American politician who served for ten terms as mayor of Charleston, SC (1975-2016), relays his learning from Seaside and the influence it had on the rebirth of his low country town. Dhiru A. Thadani, AIA, is an architect, author, and urbanist who has worked on projects across the globe and now serves as urban design consultant to several U.S. and international cities. Thadani hopes this new volume will cement Seaside’s place in the forum of traditional Urbanism: as a city of ideas, as a major influence on the process and reality of innovative urban planning, and as a power to inspire new and future projects. Léon Krier is an architect, architectural theorist, urban planner, and prominent advocate of New Urbanism and New Traditional architecture. He serves as an adviser to Charles, Prince of Wales, and is the designer of the 100-foot-tall tower that will one day grace the center of Seaside.
prominent architects and designers, including Robert A.M. Stern, Andrés Duany, Deborah Berke, Steven Holl, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Ray Gindroz, and Scott Merrill, among many others, examine urbanism today as well as other pertinent topics that address the need for beauty in everyday life. Beautifully composed and never-before-published photographs by local photographer Jack Gardner enhance this publication, a must-have for anyone who has been touched behind the charm and design of Seaside. “It was an honor and privilege to contribute new photography and images from my archives to Dhiru’s latest tome that pays tribute to the history of Seaside and its influence on the new urbanist movement and to the architects, urbanists, and influencers who helped to shape it’s growth over the years,” says the photographer who captured photographs of the empty town during the pandemic. Gardner explains, “It (the pandemic) has tragically taken many lives worldwide and provided a rare opportunity to photograph Seaside’s Central Square business district when it was closed to the public. The black and white images in the book are a stark reminder of this event, but also provide a unique look at Seaside’s architecture at rest and unobstructed. I also want to give a nod to my colleagues and local photographers Fletcher Isacks and Kurt Lischka who contributed valuable images to the book as well, and to Steven Brooke whose photos of Seaside in its early years provide a historical context to its growth.” HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II. An advocate of the new urbanism, he was
For more information: Visit www.annehuntergalleries. com or stop by Sundog Books in Seaside.
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