Solstice Planning and Architecture

Solstice Planning and Architecture Change how you live, work, and play with SOLSTICE Planning and Architecture, an architecture and des

TipTop Haus | Lido ShoresDesigned as a secluded island retreat, TipTop Haus responds to its unique setting between Saras...
06/03/2026

TipTop Haus | Lido Shores
Designed as a secluded island retreat, TipTop Haus responds to its unique setting between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Situated on a narrow lot with limited water views at street level, the home turns convention on its head through an “upside-down” floor plan that elevates daily living above the landscape.

The main living spaces and primary suite occupy the upper floor, opening directly to an 800-square-foot rooftop terrace with views toward the Gulf and Sarasota skyline. Below, an elevated courtyard and pool form the heart of the arrival experience, creating a private outdoor room that anchors the home.

A sculptural stair orchestrates movement between levels, while carefully selected materials, natural light, and sustainable strategies support a lifestyle deeply connected to the surrounding environment.
LEED Platinum Certified. U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)

Accolades
• Best of Houzz
• Best Bath of the Year, Best in American Living / Professional Builder
• Golden Aurora “Best in Show”
• Grand Aurora for Interior Detailing, Residential Construction, Custom Home (One of a Kind), Kitchen, Interior Detailing, Best Energy Efficient Home, Best Water-Wise Home, Best Solar Energy Efficient House, Best Natural Gas Single Family Home

Architecture + Interior Design: Solstice Planning and Architecture
Contractor: Isla Homes
Photography: Greg Wilson +

Team lunch at one of our favorites 🥗🍜🍝
06/02/2026

Team lunch at one of our favorites 🥗🍜🍝

Throwing it back to the Jonathan Parks Architect days — featured in 2007 Architects Roundtable. This feels a bit like a...
05/14/2026

Throwing it back to the Jonathan Parks Architect days — featured in 2007 Architects Roundtable. This feels a bit like a time capsule for Sarasota architecture — published just before the 2008 financial crisis reshaped much of the building industry.  Nearly 2 decades later, it’s interesting to revisit the conversation and realize how consistent many of our firm’s ideas have remained.

Jonathan Parks, AIA, Owner/Principal

How would you describe your vision as an architect?

I truly believe that architecture – great design – can really change the way we live. I like sitting across the table from somebody and trying to figure out how to change the way they live. Our design style is unembellished. Let the people’s lifestyle be their lifestyle. I don’t mind our buildings being about space and light and real simplicity – it’s not about the show. The architecture can be a background to the activity going on. I think that’s important.

When I trained under Charles Moore, FAIA, he would tell me, “You will be a great architect as long as you do one thing: Learn how to listen and work on that every day. If you learn how to listen, you will be a great architect. If you don’t learn how to listen, you will be just like everyone else.” If somebody is left-handed, you design a kitchen completely different. If you don’t ask that question, then you’re going to design a kitchen for someone else. How could you get the most basic thing wrong? You don’t listen to your client.

I approach design from the inside out. If you start from the outside, you end up with a lot of compromise. The design process begins with a conversation – as much as the client can stand. I love the fact of working with the client and having the client be a collaborator. Pushing the pencil around the page… their words really help that process…

Clients often think the final result is exactly what they wanted — but along the way, the design evolves. Early conversations reveal only part of the answer; through trust and collaboration, the architecture becomes a realization of what they truly wanted all along.

“Thoughtful design has the potential to change the way we live.”

Excerpt edited for brevity

05/01/2026

A completely custom steel staircase - fabricated locally by Just Steel, Inc in Sarasota and installed with extreme precision.
Each component was measured, verified, and re-verified before fabrication, with a tolerance of just 3/8 inch. The stair was then lifted by crane from the front yard, carried over the house, and lowered through an opening in the roof before being fully assembled on site over several days.
What unfolds here in under a minute represents a full day of installation — a coordinated effort where structure, sequencing, and craftsmanship all had to align.

Huge shout out to our photographer Dylan Jon Wade Cox who parked himself at the site for 5 hours to get this material. We are grateful for this whole team of designers, craftsmen, artisans, and you, Dylan!
Siesta Key, Florida

Fabrication + Installation: Just Steel, Inc. (In business for 28 years!)
Contractor: DTI Contracting
Architecture:
Interior Design:
Video:

Time for a SOLSTICE Spring Highlight! Take a peak behind the studio as we look back at the last few months of 2026. - Vi...
04/17/2026

Time for a SOLSTICE Spring Highlight! Take a peak behind the studio as we look back at the last few months of 2026. 
- Visit to the award-winning SOLSTICE-designed LightBox House (Now on the market!)
- Lunch at some of Sarasota’s iconic hot spots
- Look it’s Carl Abbott, FAIA! (And Janet)
- Welcoming our newest Design Professional, Elie Safi
- The team enjoys the SRQ Home of the Year Awards (bringing home FIVE awards)
- Jonathan speaks as member (and Former Chair) of the City of Sarasota Public Art Committee
- Jonathan talks about architecture and more with architecture sarasota’s architectural scholar, Christopher Wilson
 - Julia discovers a chair

Looking forward to the next quarter!
planningstudip

Thirty Oaks, Siesta Key, FloridaDesigned along a quiet canal on Siesta Key, Thirty Oaks was conceived as a home shaped b...
04/02/2026

Thirty Oaks, Siesta Key, Florida
Designed along a quiet canal on Siesta Key, Thirty Oaks was conceived as a home shaped by its landscape. The architecture weaves carefully among thirty protected live oak trees, creating a series of indoor and outdoor spaces that respond to light, shade, and the subtropical climate.
 
The arrival begins beneath a lush canopy, transitioning to a more intimate scale at the entry, where water elements introduce the home’s connection to nature. Inside, living, dining, and kitchen spaces flow seamlessly toward the rear terrace, pool, and canal, while private areas unfold deeper into the site.
 
Natural light reaches every room — even closets and pantries — reinforcing the home’s emphasis on openness, comfort, and connection to the outdoors. Through thoughtful siting, passive strategies, and a careful balance of natural and built elements, the home achieved LEED Gold certification from embracing sustainability rooted in place.

Thirty Oaks reflects an approach to architecture that partners with nature — preserving what exists while creating spaces for everyday living and gathering.
 
Awards include: 
Tampa Bay Architecture People’s Choice Contest
Award of Excellence, AIA Tampa Bay
Platinum Award for Overall Home under $2 million, SRQ Home of the Year, SRQ Magazine
Platinum Award for Pool, SRQ Home of the Year, SRQ Magazine
Silver Award for Sustainable, SRQ Home of the Year, SRQ Magazine
Platinum Award for Best Kitchen, SRQ Home of the Year, SRQ Magazine
Silver Award for Best Landscape, SRQ Home of the Year, SRQ Magazine
 
Architecture:
Interior Design:
Contractor:
Landscape Architecture:
LEED Certification: Two_Trails
Photography: Greg Wilson Group
 

03/17/2026

Danza Cúbica — Siesta Key

🎥 Captured a few months ago, as the project was moving towards completion.

Defined by a composition of interlocking volumes and six half-levels, the home frames an inward-focused experience—where interior spaces, light, and movement are carefully choreographed around a central core.

Architecture
Interior Design
Contractor
Structural Young & Hedrick
Video + Drone
A/V
Pool
Aluminum stairs, railings, louvre
Concrete and curving stair
Roof
Solar

Skyhook | Sarasota BayDesigned for a family who wanted to remain in their home for decades to come, Skyhook reimagines w...
03/09/2026

Skyhook | Sarasota Bay
Designed for a family who wanted to remain in their home for decades to come, Skyhook reimagines waterfront living through resilience, accessibility, and sustainable design.

The 5,180 sq. ft. residence is elevated 17 feet above grade to meet coastal flood requirements while capturing expansive views of Sarasota Bay and the surrounding canal. Cantilevered volumes and walls of glass create the feeling of living above the landscape, while a west-facing elevated pool — the first permitted in a VE flood zone in Sarasota — frames daily sunsets over the water.

Performance-driven strategies including passive ventilation, solar energy production, high-performance insulation, and automated environmental controls helped the home achieve a HERS rating of –3 (beyond net-zero energy use) along with LEED Platinum, Florida Green Building Coalition Platinum, and ENERGY STAR Highest Standards certification.

Skyhook was recently recognized at the SRQ Home of the Year Awards with:
Platinum — Best Sustainability / Green Design
Gold — Best Interior Design
Silver — Best Overall Home Over $4M
Silver — Best Landscape Design / Pool / Outdoor

This home as also been previously awarded:
AIA Tampa Bay Honor Award for Architecture, New Work
AIA Tampa Bay Merit Award, Sustainability
AIA Florida Gulf Coast, Merit Award, Sustainability

Explore the full project at the link in our profile.
Architecture: Solstice Planning and Architecture
Interior Design Solstice Planning and Architecturewith owner
Contractor: Synergy Building Corp.
Landscape: Michael A. Gilkey, Inc. : Landscape Architecture
Structural: Young & Hedrick Engineering, LLC
LEED certification: Two Trails Inc.
Photography: Dylan Jon Wade Cox Photography

We are honored that 3Walls has received the SRQ Magazine SRQ Home of the Year Platinum Award for Best Overall Home Under...
02/27/2026

We are honored that 3Walls has received the SRQ Magazine SRQ Home of the Year Platinum Award for Best Overall Home Under $2 Million — the program’s highest distinction in this category.

Conceived as a modern bungalow within Sarasota’s historic Avondale neighborhood, the home transforms accessibility, context, and constraint into architectural drivers. Three custom breezeblock walls unify the site, while a fully integrated accessible plan quietly shapes circulation, thresholds, and daily life.

Grateful to our clients and collaborators who helped bring this project to life.
Architecture Solstice Planning and Architectures
Interiors: Solstice Planning and Architecture w/ owner
Contractor Modus Builders
Landscaping Arbor Landscapes
Shellcrete SRQ Modern
Pool Family Pools
Photography





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