Photo: Courtesy Artstor
Experience the rare opportunity to tour the interior of Ralph Twitchell and Paul Rudolph’s historic 1950 Healy Guest House, also known as Cocoon House.
Located on Bayou Louise Lane on Siesta Key, Cocoon House is a two-bedroom, one-bath, 760-square-foot cottage built as a guesthouse for Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Healy. The house gets its name from the technology used to build its roof: a polymer spray that Paul Rudolph saw being used at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on warships returning after WWII in order to "cocoon" or moth-ball them. Rudolph's creativity made him realize that this material could also be used in the construction industry.
The Cocoon House was named “Best House Design of the Year” from the AIA in 1949; selected by MoMA New York as one of 19 examples of houses built since WWII that were "pioneers of design" in 1953; and locally designated as a historic property by the City of Sarasota in 1985.
Space is limited to 15 guests per tour. Please register in advance.
Tours begin Saturday, July 21 and will continue on the first and third Saturday of every month, except November, through March 2019.
See the Cocoon House during SarasotaMOD November 9 - 11, 2018.
Parking: The house is located on a narrow private lane. Please do not turn down Bayou Louise Lane. SAF volunteers will direct vehicles to a nearby lot on the corner of Gulfmead Drive and Siesta Drive. Enjoy the short 0.1 mile walk to the Cocoon House on Bayou Louise Lane.
Questions? Contact SAF Operations Director, Erika Cain.
