Design Excellence: The Early Career of Clifford Scholz

Design Excellence with Humble Beginnings

“You have to be a people person to sell your business, to sell your talents.”  – Clifford Scholz

Fifty-five years ago, when a 15-year-old Clifford Scholz accepted a job at a construction firm near his home in Rochester, Michigan, he had no way of knowing what that first manual labor position would lead to. With his interest piqued, Clifford began taking high school drafting courses and subsequently pursued architectural studies at Arizona State University. Although his first year at university went well, he realized that his current course of study was pigeonholing him into a specific style. Looking to broaden his horizons and design possibilities, he returned to his home state and ultimately earned a degree from the Lawrence Institute of Technology in Michigan.

However, there were a few false starts on the road to sharing his idea of “design excellence” with the world.

Upon graduation, Detroit was in a slump, and the jobs available weren’t aligned with his envisioned career. When a girlfriend suggested moving to Tampa in 1976, Scholz decided to move south. Within days, he was working for a small developer-type architect in Brooksville. However, after a year of working alongside a very small team, Scholz knew he needed to move to an environment where he could learn as much as possible in an accelerated time frame.

He found his place at the firm of Harry A. MacEwen, AIA, in Tampa, where he would learn his craft under the mentorship of Bo MacEwen. He spent five years working with construction documents – a discipline in which he excelled – and was then moved into a design capacity, working his way from draftsman to partner in 13 years.

His personal dedication to excellence and client satisfaction allowed him to move from Tampa in 1981 to head up the Sarasota offices of the MacEwen Group. From this office, the partner would lead the design team at one of Sarasota’s most prestigious new golf course communities, The Oaks in Osprey. The homes and clubhouse that the MacEwen Group designed for The Oaks, under the leadership of Scholz, became the epitome of opulent living in South Sarasota and remain a respected example of classic luxury Florida design to this day.

A Personal Touch Leads to a Stellar Reputation

“You can’t go to lunch without meeting someone who knows Cliff.” -Daniel Shaffer, Partner at CMSA Architects.

This short statement exemplifies the reach and influence that Clifford Scholz has had on the Sarasota architectural scene. In 1992, Scholz decided to leave MacEwen and open his own firm, citing that Sarasota was ready for new architectural talent. The ensuing 32 years have been marked by success, reputation, and prestige.

However, for all his success, Scholz and his team  “leave the ego at the door” when working with clients. “Our clients are intelligent people. They know what they like and what they don’t like. We don’t force designs onto any client – we enhance our clients’ thoughts, desires, and dreams, ”  says Scholz.

In his journey to design excellence, Scholz has worked alongside his partners, who are ready to take the reins and usher the region into a new era of exceptional design – utilizing fresh new technologies and capabilities to bring dreams to life.

Clifford Scholz has left his characteristic mark on the Sarasota architectural landscape, and we will discuss his projects and contributions in the coming installments.

Read more about CMSA Architects.