Goodwin Company’s Loving Craft is On Display at The Sarasota Art Museum
“I am writing to offer my highest praise, and most profound gratitude to The Goodwin Company for their partnership on the creation of the floors of our new art museum. The beautiful floors of our 23,000 sq ft exhibition galleries were lovingly crafted of exquisite reclaimed heart pine, salvaged from the joists of the 1926 M. Leo Elliott designed former Sarasota High School.
As an art museum director and curator, meticulously designing every aspect of the gallery experience was paramount to the success of the project. After seeing the gorgeous raw lumber during the demo phase of the project, centuries-old, I became committed to repurposing this special wood—from an historic, aesthetic and environmental standpoint, this was unquestionably the right thing to do.
But it was not easy.
We were so fortunate to find our partners at The Goodwin Company to bring this ambitious project to fruition. The floors are beautiful in their own right, and they provide an elegant platform and framing device for the wide range of contemporary art we install there. They complement, but never compete with the art. We could not be more pleased with the results.
Goodwin understood the complexity involved in adaptive reuse, and the particular challenges involved in repurposing a 1920s era building into a high-performance building, with the necessary environmental conditions for an art museum, and the heavy foot traffic of a public space. During construction Goodwin brought the first technical director of the National Wood Floor Association to meet with the entire team and assist with the subfloor, sound attenuation and insulation requirements. Once the floor was installed, Goodwin brought the finish manufacturer’s team onsite to consult with the Museum’s curatorial and facilities team to ensure the long-term preservation of this fine art environment.
In addition to their consummate professionalism and technical expertise, the Goodwin team was a pure delight to work with, always going above and beyond to creatively problem-solve and to ensure the highest quality product possible.
If you are considering The Goodwin Company for your project, I would be delighted to share more about this journey, should you wish to discuss.
With best regards,
Anne-Marie Russell, Founding Executive Director, Sarasota Art Museum ”