• Letter from the OFA Board of Trustees

• Sam Stoltz Brought a Storybook World to Life in Central Florida

• Tour New Terminal C Orlando Intl. Airport

• Explanation of Biophilic Design

• Architects and Architecture, Edgewater Heights

• OFA Movie Night at Casa Feliz

• Recap: 2024 Board Induction & Holiday Party

• New 2024 OFA Board Member

• 2024 Membership Renewal

• OFA Architectural Guidebook

• Thank You New OFA Members & Supporters

Season’s Greetings!

While in New York City this past week for a quick binge on holiday spirit, sweets, storefronts, and of course, architecture, I became curious about the origination of holiday lights on buildings.  It is believed the tradition began in the 17th century in Germany where Christmas trees and windows were adorned with candles. The practice was later brought to England by Queen Victoria’s husband Albert, but as the tradition spread, so did the threat of fire as cities grew and density increased.

Fast forward to the late 1800’s, Thomas Edison and his protégé, Edward Johnson, developed the light bulb but the market and building infrastructures were not yet ready to embrace the new technology. During the holiday season of 1880, out of financial necessity, they introduced the first outdoor electric holiday light display outside of their laboratory for the world to see. By the turn of the century, string lights were mass-produced and sold in department stores to adorn Christmas trees and homes across the U.S. and have since gained universal appeal for

40 years before Disney, Sam Stoltz created fantasy homes for adventurous clients, often with his longtime client, Central Florida entrepreneur and developer H. Carl Dann.  Today, these homes contribute tremendously to the architectural heritage of the Orlando area. Trained as an artist, Sam incorporated stunning murals and sculptural relief throughout many of his works.

We have a new page on the Dubsdred Country Club and the life of Sam Stoltz on our OFApedia tab by our local historian John Dalles. Don’t overlook the “related Inks” on the Dubsdread page, it leads to a wealth of not-to-be-missed photos by John Dalles of Sam Stoltz houses around Central Florida.

Continue reading about the history of Dubsdred Country club and the life of Sam Stoltz HERE.

This could make a fun date night. As very few people travel through the new terminal with only 14 gates, the airport has decided to offer 50 daily guest passes to non-travelers. Visitors will still have to go through the TSA checkpoint, but we are told the lines are short there, waiting in terms of minutes. The passes are free, but one still needs to park, i.e. $4.00 per hour at the south terminal garage.

Continue reading about the new Terminal C at the Orlando Intl. Airport HERE.

Environmental impacts have been the focus of design for decades as we work to mitigate climate change. But there is more to a sustainably built environment than just low-carbon intensity. Enter Biophilic Design, a strategy that seeks to enhance the innate human-nature connection through intentional design considerations.

Continue reading about the explanation of Biophilic Design HERE.

The College Park Neighborhood Association Tour of Homes, November 12, 2023, will feature the Edgewater Heights neighborhood around Lake Adair and Lake Concord. The tour committee has taken its theme from the Florida Historic Marker along Edgewater Drive identifying the Lake Adair-Lake Concord National Register Historic District. The marker is new, but the district was recognized as historic more than ten years ago during the planning for the most recent expansion of I-4. The original interstate construction in the 1960s brought the destruction of many homes and businesses along the east side of College Park. All but six of the streets running east and west between Edgewater Drive and North Orange Avenue were closed, disrupting daily life and dividing the community.

Continue reading about the history of this area and the formation of its historic districts HERE.

See our Inaugural Showing of our new film series at Casa Feliz. A double feature showing: "Through a Flowering Place" A story of the Women of the Saltwater Railroad: Anna Kingsley’s 19th Century  journey from Africa to Northern Florida Territory, Haiti and back to the United States , and "Two Women and the Pavilion on the Water" The story of the first permanent band stand in Lake Eola. The film also covers Isabel Roberts design work with Ida Ryan and their firm, one of the first female architecture studios in the country in the 1920's, and their buildings built in Orlando and surrounding communities.

If you haven’t seen our first documentary on local architectural history this is another chance to see the film which made it into the Orlando Film Festival this last October.

Come enjoy some popcorn and soda with us.

Tuesday, January 30th, 2023

6:00pm - 7:30pm

Casa Feliz

656 N Park Ave

Winter Park, FL 32789

Thank you to everyone who attended the AIA Orlando and Orlando Foundation for Architecture 2024 Board Induction & Holiday Party! It was wonderful to see colleagues come together in the spirt of celebration and camaraderie to induct the new 2024 board members.

We hope you enjoyed the festivities, delicious food, and the opportunity to connect with your peers in a relaxed and festive setting. Please take a moment to complete a quick survey on the event. Your feedback helps our staff make events like these even better!

Jennifer Fritz-Hunter, RA, AIA - Trustee

Jennifer Fritz-Hunter is the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Orlando. Prior to relocating to the City Beautiful about 2 years ago, she was a practicing Architect in the private sector focusing on preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historic properties throughout the Midwest. Over her 20-year career, Jennifer had the privilege to work on many significant properties including Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana-Thomas House in Springfield IL, Louis Sullivan's Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, and

Thank you for being a valued member of The Orlando Foundation for Architecture, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to public education that inspires people to discover WHY DESIGN MATTERS.​

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With your loyalty and support, OFA is able to continuously provide our members with valuable benefits and programming through educational programs, tours, exhibits, and events.

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Your investment also allows us to provide college scholarships to students that participate in the 2+2+2 program at Valencia College, UCF and UF CityLab Orlando.

Order your copy of The Architectural Guide to Central Florida- the first available guide to offer visitors and natives alike an overview of outstanding buildings spanning nearly a century and a half of growth in Central Florida.

With dramatic color photography, the guidebook introduces the major cities from Daytona to Lake Wales, and architects who have shaped the communities, including Murry S. King, James Gamble Rogers II, Nils M. Schweizer and Gene Leedy, with essays by ten knowledgeable experts.

It showcases historic buildings from the early twentieth century, mid-century modern, to the

Jeffrey Gormley

Pamela Lindon

Becky Bell, AIA

Scott Malenock, AIA

Gregory Stock, AIA

Henry Wolf, AIA Emeritus