To visit the coastal community of Seaside is to fall in love with its charm and to recognize it as the architectural sweetheart that it is . While flip-flopping through its quaint streets , one is brought face-to-mural with the reason we are all so smitten - the visionary himself , Vincent Scully . Spiritual father of New Urbanism and art and architecture historian / professor , Scully influenced more than five decades of students during his professorship at Yale . His teachings would inspire two of his students , Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk , to design Seaside as one of the first communities based on New Urbanist principles . Rejecting the modernist design movement that centered around new technology , high speed roads for automobiles , strip malls , and suburban sprawl , Scully promoted a return to architectural intimacy . New Urbanism is a planning and development approach based on his concepts which encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles and compact self-contained neighborhoods infused with a wide range of housing , retail , restaurant and job types , walkability , sidewalk culture , and shared public spaces . He taught of an intimate and empathetic relationship between the built environment and those who live in it , creating more fulfilled social networking and improved well-being . Impacted by his teachings , Duany and Plater-Zyberk delivered just that in the welcoming whimsy that is Seaside .
After Scully ’ s death in 2017 , Seaside honored his legacy with a memorial mural seen from scenic 30A that welcomes all strollers and passersby to the trendsetting town he inspired . Andrew “ Gaia ” Piscane , world renowned street artist , painted the memorial in only eight days and says a mural is “ an aesthetic or communicative visual gesture in the urban landscape that is defined by its situation .” Gaia got his start drawing inspiration from his hometown of NYC ’ s many crevices and nuances , and says “ I began to explore planning and policy and incorporated this conceptual vein into my conversation with the builder environment .” Seaside now joins the growing list of places throughout the world where his work is exhibited . With Gaia ’ s help , Scully will continue to spark conversations and lessons on Seaside ’ s architectural roots . And in addition to sand in their shoes , visitors will also take home a small piece of his legacy .
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