The New College of Florida has announced Brooks+Scarpa, STUDIOS Architecture, and Sweet Sparkman Architecture & Interiors as the three finalists in the competition to redesign I.M. Pei’s early-60s dormitory complex for the school’s Sarasota campus.
The contest was organized in conjunction with the preservation group Architecture Sarasota. Jurists David Mohney, Taryn Sabia, Alan Plattus, the organization’s President Morris “Marty” Hylton III, and [Strang] Design founding Principal Max Strang selected their three finalists, who will each receive a $10,000 honorarium in addition to having their proposals exhibited publicly in the city through November 15th.
“We extend our immense gratitude to everyone who has entered the competition and are honored that so many widely respected practitioners of architecture submitted their ideas,” New College’s Interim President Richard Corcoran said of the contest. “It’s reflective of our ambitions for this new chapter in the history of the college and an enriching prospect for student life on our campus. We’re very eager to see how the designs proposed by these exceptionally resourceful, innovative and forward-thinking architects will develop, connecting New College’s rich past with its future.”
A winner is expected to be announced on November 17th. Meanwhile, the competition to deliver the city’s new Performing Arts Center is also underway with a slate of leading international firms also in the running. A further look at the finalist designs in that contest can be found here.
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3 Comments
This is mysterious, on the face of it.
So we have to wait until November to see the three finalists's designs? I'm not seeing them elsewhere.
Apparently it's a design competition without any commitment to actually building any of the proposals. What's the incentive for the firms? I'm curious. Is there, in fact, any plan or intention to actually redesign the Pei dormitories? (Why would there be?)
And I'm curious to hear the discussions coming from DeSantis & co.
"Reimagine" usually means "remuddle". The competition brief is pretty weird in the way that it's contradictory aims aims are to keep the buildings while apparently stripping them of their function as student housing. I fear that the university will dick around with this quarter-baked reuse scheme for a few years and then abandon it for lack of funds. The DeSantis crowd will then arrange to demolish the complex.
“New College values what these structures represent to thousands but
So they can't/wont spend the money to repair the place for use as dorms, but somehow a change of use will be less expensive??? Mmmkay.also recognizes that the current condition of the dorms makes complete
renovation cost prohibitive if not impossible,” said New College Interim President Richard Corcoran.
This whole thing reeks of the usual, "we tried to save the buildings but it was just too expensive" song & dance that happens prior to demolition.