Sweet Sparkman Wins 2026 AIA Florida Design Honor Award, Historic Preservation and Restoration, for Chidsey Library Rehabilitation

Sweet Sparkman Architects won the 2026 AIA Florida Design Honor Award, Historic Preservation and Restoration for the Chidsey Library Rehabilitation.

The award from AIA Florida recognizes the value of architecture from the past and honors the story they tell of the aspirations, culture, craft, technology, history, creativity, sustainability and use of materials. The Historic Award’s purpose is to recognize excellence in efforts to preserve, rehabilitate, restore and reconstruct those structures that have stood the test of time.

The Chidsey Library Rehabilitation adapts Sarasota’s first public library, built in 1941, into office space for the Bay Park Conservancy, which manages the adjacent Bay Park. The building sits along the Tamiami Trail corridor near Sarasota Bay.

Before the renovation, deferred maintenance and water intrusion had damaged the structure, including spalling across the original concrete floor system. The project stabilized the building and introduced new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and data systems. Original materials were retained where possible, including the terrazzo flooring, glass block, and exposed brick. Metal shelf faces from the historic stacks were reused as a display element in the lobby. Removing a former mezzanine opened a double-height space at the center of the plan.