Most of us don’t work with architects every day. Many of us, I would venture, don’t even know an architect, much less how they obtain their skills. Until we need to know, that is, once we decide to build a custom home or some other type of complex structure.

Before relocating to Sarasota in the late 1990s, I had been an apartment dweller in New York City for years. I loved life in Gotham but was especially drawn to its unsurpassed array of cultural offerings. Still, after being there for more than 25 years, it was finally time for a complete change of scenery.