St. Pete: A Cozy, Winter Beach Retreat
Renowned for its alluring weather and beautiful beaches, St. Petersburg adds another accolade to its belt with recent praise from a national publication. Budget Travel Magazine named the city one […]
St. Pete To Unveil New Dali On 1/11/11
Have you picked your Dali do yet? What about your scarf? And your shoes? With only weeks to go, partygoers and museum patrons are abuzz about all the hoopla surrounding the Jan. 11, 2011 official opening of a brand new Dali Museum just eight blocks north of its current location in St. Petersburg. Its new address? One Dali Boulevard. But you can't miss it. It's the only building of its kind in North America.The outside architecture of the new Salvador Dali Museum boasts more than 900 triangular-shaped glass panels, each one unique in form. Together, they reflect the play of light and color that comprise St. Pete's waterfront. The geodesic glass structure is patterned after the dome featured in Dalí's Teatro Museo in Figueres, Spain, designed by Buckminster Fuller. A waterfront garden features a labyrinth.The new space is twice the size of the former museum, and is designed to protect the artwork housed there from hurricane-force winds. The collection will also double in size. Interior features were inspired by Dali's work and include a helical staircase, which reaches to the third floor galleries. According to a statement issued by the museum, Dali used the helix in his artwork as a metaphor for nature's innate divinity. The new space also houses classrooms, a student gallery, a theater and a cafe.The new building was designed by HOK Architect Yann Weymouth, design director for HOK's Florida office. He says the guiding philosophy was very simple."The museum sits on this beautiful waterfront," he says. "So the art needs to be protected from hurricane winds. So the design is really a duality between strong, solid form and an almost liquid, transparent design. The main structure is composed of concrete wall, and then bursting out rather gleefully is the geodesic glass design."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Yan Weymouth, HOK Architects
New Shops, Cafes Open In Downtown Clearwater
Once simply a route to Clearwater Beach, a newly revamped Cleveland Street is emerging into a destination on its own.The City of Clearwater has realized its three-pronged plan to transform Cleveland Street from a sleepy downtown thoroughfare to the beach to a downtown district. Cleveland Street runs from Drew Street just north of Route 60 to just shy of the Intercoastal Waterway.The city's strategy for improvements includes new and upgraded infrastructure, residential development and events to bring people downtown, according to Geraldine Lopez of Clearwater's Economic Development and Housing Department."We needed to give people a reason to come downtown," Lopez says. "We did studies that gave us ideas -- like a sidewalk café district. So a lot of our incentives and programs surround recruiting restaurants and cafes. We also revisited our branding and logo. Instead of calling this area downtown Clearwater, we're calling it the Cleveland Street District.''Lopez says a number of businesses recently opened on Cleveland Street, including Casanova Restaurant & Lounge, the Hot Spot Café and I Care Medical Supply. Expanded businesses include Tony's Pizzeria and Peter Gillham's Nutrition Center, which expanded to two businesses: Gillham's Naturals and Green Organic Food & Wine Bar. New residential options include The Strand, Station Square and Water's Edge. Infrastructure improvements include boat slips along the downtown waterfront and an improved streetscape that includes public art."We have been focused on redeveloping downtown for the last 10 years," Lopez says "For a number of years, you had to go down Cleveland to get to Clearwater Beach. But with the new bridge, traffic shifted away from Cleveland. Now people have a reason to go downtown."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Geraldine Lopez, City of Clearwater
Studio Independent Honors SPARK Brand
Working with a metal structure can be tricky. But in the right hands, it can be molded into something extraordinary.Studio Independent, a Ybor City architectural firm, took on the challenge of renovating a metal building in South Tampa for SPARK, an advertising agency with a thing for metal buildings.The architects wanted to align their design with the ad agency's business philosophy. "SPARK is a branding company," says Brandon Hicks, co-owner of Studio Independent, which he owns with his wife Sarah Joubert. "So we looked at their process, which is to find what works for their client, tweak it and repackage it So we did that for them. We kept what was working with the space and totally repackaged it."Doing so required a lot of analysis. "Their previous office was this industrial, metal building," he says. "For SPARK, the new space was exactly what they were looking for. For us, it was about analyzing things -- determining what we could and couldn't use. "The building type really dictated what we could and couldn't do," Hicks continues. "Metal buildings are very economical until you start altering them. You can't just cut into metal. You have to be very careful where you carve so you don't compromise any structural components. If you do, it starts to get very expensive. So we had to do a lot of pre-project analysis."Hicks says the SPARK project is a first for his firm, which he and his wife started 18 months ago."Someone I went to school with runs in the same circle as we do, and he knew SPARK was looking for a new architect -- a new and upcoming firm looking for a portfolio-type project -- and he referred us to SPARK. We set up a meeting the same day we got the call. We couldn't have asked for a better first project."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Brandon Hicks, Studio Independent
The NoHo Bistro: A Taste Of Tampa To Savor
Tomas Carrasquillo III and Tina Hurless, owners of The NoHo Bistro in West Tampa, credit a personal touch, attention to detail and good food locally grown as the secrets to making their restaurant succeed even in a tough economy.
Manatee High School Adds New Music Building
Bradenton high school students interested in the performing arts soon will have a new place to hone their skills.Construction is underway for a music building at Manatee High School, located at 902 33 St.. The new building will replace the old Davis Building, named for former Principal Paul F. Davis. The project, which boasts the largest auditorium in the district, is due to be completed by July 2011. According to Alexander Long, an architect with Tampa's Long & Associates Architects / Engineers, the new 70,000-square-foot building will contain 25 classrooms, the school's band, orchestra and vocal programs, and an 800-seat auditorium with a working stage and dressing rooms. Long says the architecture makes the most of natural light. "All student-occupied spaces have natural daylight and views, and the central gathering space sits under a 54-foot-wide skylight in the heart of the building."The project is four years in the making and the result of painstaking research on the original building, which was built in 1926," continues Long. "The new building had to combine two original decayed wood and brick structures that housed both the classrooms and the music program while maintaining the street presence and character of the original building. The project borrows from the 'collegiate' style of the original architecture and addresses the street with the same dimensions and setback to exemplify the strength, integrity and tradition of the original campus."Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Alex Long, Long & Associates Architects/Engineers
Slow Food Tampa Bay Brings Local Farms Home
If you've grown weary of hazardous food recalls and lackluster produce, the Slow Food Movement offers an alternative -- buy local. With dozens of local farms in the Tampa Bay region, you'll find it's easier than you think.
TampaBayHelps: Using Social Media For Good
Tampa Bay entrepreneur Ginger Watters' creation of TampaBayHelps is designed to leverage social media connections to grow donor support for local charities and build a community mindset that inspires greater philanthropic giving.
Happy Holidays To You From 83 Degrees
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Clear Speeds Into Tampa Bay With WiMax
A new Internet provider is bringing competition to other 4G services in the Tampa Bay region.Clear offers 4G coverage through the use of a portable device the size of a small book, according to the St. Petersburg Times.Clear's network covers the majority of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties along with New Port Richey.Read the complete story.
