Max Strang

Strang's architecture is designed to be integrated within South Florida's subtropical climate and is known for fusing build materials like wood, concrete, glass, and metal elements.

• Name — Max Strang • Born — 18 November 1970 • Birth Name — Max Wilson Strang • Birthplace — Winter Haven, Florida, U.S. • Occupation — Architect • Education — University of Florida, Columbia University • Significant Buildings — Rock House, Rain Garden, Schokman Education Center, Tarpon Bend Residence, Bolsterli Residence, Strang Residence, Latterner Residence • Practice — Strang Design

Strang's grandfather, Charles Walton Adams, left Detroit in 1911 and moved to Lake Alfred, Florida, where he grew citrus and was president of Adams Packing Association – one of the first and largest concentrate plants in Florida. He later married Emmie Renyolds Adams and had two children, Mary Reynolds Adams (Strang's biological mother) and Charles Walton Adams Jr. Mary Adams would later marry Carl J. Strang Jr. (Strang's biological father) in Winter Haven, Florida. Strang (a Florida native) grew up in Winter Haven, Florida, where his parents commissioned a home by Gene Leedy, a recognized member of the Sarasota School of Architecture (SSOA). Strang's personal (and later professional) relationship with Gene Leedy introduced him to the architecture of Paul Rudolph and other SSOA leaders – further influencing Strang's dedication and focus on Regional Modernism, perpetuated through his firm. Strang is a graduate of the University of Florida and Columbia University. Before establishing his firm, he worked in the architecture offices of Gene Leedy, SHoP Architects, and Zaha Hadid Architects.

Strang's adoption and adaptation of Regional Modernism (see also Critical Regionalism) is what he calls Environmental Modernism – focusing on the core tenets of the SSOA movement to connect architecture and environment. Strang prioritizes the use of local materials, such as Florida Keystone and Oolitic limestone for South Florida projects, as well as non-local, sustainably focused products. Strang has lectured about Florida's environmental concerns and ‘sea-level rise’, and its associated issues of inland migration while calling attention to the need for sustainable architectural materials and strategies. Strang has openly participated in the dialogue of reducing ‘embodied energy’ in buildings. Strang's 2016 project, the Net-Zero House, in Miami Beach features 112 photovoltaic panels that feed batteries that is estimated to power the 5,500 square foot building for several months. When discussing the designs of newly built concrete homes on Florida's coastlines, Strang says: "there’s no denying that homes of this size and complexity contain lots of embodied energy. But, to try not to offset embodied energy would just be sitting idly by." In 2017 Strang partnered with architect Gene Leedy FAIA on a project they called the "reissues" in which Leedy's 1,100-square-foot courtyard home designs were re-envisioned as an alternative to today's larger residences. The project received an award for design excellence from AIA Florida.