Midtown Plaza Renovation
The ambition of the Midtown Plaza northside renovation is to provide a contemporary and eloquent adaptation to one of Sarasota’s outdated commercial plazas and subsequent flooring, steps, ramps, and railings whilst maintaining the profile of the Florida cityscape. The result: a game of subtraction, retraction, and alignment of both volumes and scale.
Perhaps the greatest of challenges was the very conditions of the existing project. The original structure, in fact, dates to the 1950’s, thus providing a significant constraint on the extents to which a modern approach was possible. The primary efforts were, thus, assigned to the facade of the building. Capitalizing on detailed motions to maximize the use of a limited budget, the new exterior volumes and fenestration – with the respective shifts in tone - follow the grid over-imposed by the sequences of three-centered arches of the Northern and Western porticos. To aid the volumetric setbacks in breaking down the scale of the project and accentuating the changes in programmatic use introduced by the fenestration, a series of vertical black aluminum elements formulate a third level of detail.
The conception of the design intentions was also influenced by the knowledge of the planned renovations of the nearby context. The intention is therefore that of formulating a project and site-specific language capable of adapting to future mutations and additions to a city witnessing a period of intense urban and social growth.
The Midtown Plaza northside Renovation, thus, results in a functional and innovative design that both introduces modernity to one of Sarasota’s commercial avenues and welcomes the traditional ideal of the Floridian plaza. Adaptation becomes exemplary, progress no-longer a taboo but a palpable reality celebrating comfort and efficacy, accessibility and devotion.
Midtown Plaza Renovation
The ambition of the Midtown Plaza northside renovation is to provide a contemporary and eloquent adaptation to one of Sarasota’s outdated commercial plazas and subsequent flooring, steps, ramps, and railings whilst maintaining the profile of the Florida cityscape. The result: a game of subtraction, retraction, and alignment of both volumes and scale.
Perhaps the greatest of challenges was the very conditions of the existing project. The original structure, in fact, dates to the 1950’s, thus providing a significant constraint on the extents to which a modern approach was possible. The primary efforts were, thus, assigned to the facade of the building. Capitalizing on detailed motions to maximize the use of a limited budget, the new exterior volumes and fenestration – with the respective shifts in tone - follow the grid over-imposed by the sequences of three-centered arches of the Northern and Western porticos. To aid the volumetric setbacks in breaking down the scale of the project and accentuating the changes in programmatic use introduced by the fenestration, a series of vertical black aluminum elements formulate a third level of detail.
The conception of the design intentions was also influenced by the knowledge of the planned renovations of the nearby context. The intention is therefore that of formulating a project and site-specific language capable of adapting to future mutations and additions to a city witnessing a period of intense urban and social growth.
The Midtown Plaza northside Renovation, thus, results in a functional and innovative design that both introduces modernity to one of Sarasota’s commercial avenues and welcomes the traditional ideal of the Floridian plaza. Adaptation becomes exemplary, progress no-longer a taboo but a palpable reality celebrating comfort and efficacy, accessibility and devotion.
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