The Lens © Michael Maltzan Architecture

The Lens, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, has been selected as winner of the international competition to redesign the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida. After over a month of debate, a jury of three architects and two elected officials selected the proposal, believing it to be the most practical and cost-effective design. The jury’s decision was consistent with the public’s opinion, as 68% of the public comments supported The Lens, 42% liked The Wave, while only 17% backed the Eye. Next, the St. Petersburg City Council will vote on February 2nd to decide whether or not they will approve the design. If the concept is accepted, the next year will be dedicated to involve the public in the creation of the final design.

Follow this link to watch the pier jury ranking. Find more information on the final proposal here.

Reference: WTSP 10 News, City of St. Petersburg

© BIG

The three finalists of the St. Petersburg Pier competition presented their proposals to a panel of jurors and nearly 200 people, as the presentation was open to the public. BIG started the day off with the Wave and was followed by Michael Maltzan Architecture’s presentation of the Lens. The day concluded with West 8’s proposal, the People’s Pier. Concerns of cost and shade dominated the conversation, as well as materiality, permitting, storm ratings and boating. According to the Tampa Bay online report, the Lens and the Wave generated the most positive attention, stating the People’s Pier received “a more restrained response.” The panel will announce their decision on January 20th.

Click here to check out the final three design proposals featured on ArchDaily.

Watch the presentations online and provide your feedback here on the official city website of St. Petersburg.

The Lens © Michael Maltzan Architecture

The final entries are in for the international redesign competition of the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida. The competition seeks to generate a new identity and iconic landmark that will honor the history and relevance of the Pier for the next generation. Michael Maltzan Architecture, BIG and West 8 Urbaban Design and Landscape Architecture are the three architectural firms selected from the list of nine semi finalists. Continue reading after the break to view the radically different design proposals.

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As we reported last week, WORKac provided the winning entry for the invitation-only competition New Ideas for New Holland. The proposed city within a city concept is an exciting redevelopment and design of New Holland Island in St. Petersburg, Russia which takes shape in this video by Eric Lane with music by Darkstar.

Photo by Matthew Paulson - http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewpaulson/

The St. Petersburg Pier, a long-adored and long-outdated West Florida cultural attraction, has unveiled the semi-finalists in its international redesign competition. Of the twenty-three qualified inquiries received, nine were chosen to move forward in the contest. The competition attracted big names in the architecture world; BIG, West 8 Urban Design, James Corner Field Operations, and HOK Architects were among the participants.

More on the St. Petersburg Pier after the break.

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© WORKac

Within St. Petersburg lies a triangle shaped island that has been home to a naval prison, lumberyard, a radio station, and military barracks. Off limits to the public for 300 years New Holland Island, with its unique identity of canals and existing warehouse structures, will be part of a $12 billion dollar redevelopment project.  Identifying the island as one of St. Petersburg’s most significant historical sites The Architecture Foundation held an international invitation-only competition New Ideas for New Holland, which included entires from David Chipperfield Architects, MVRDV, Russia’s Studio 44, and winning proposal from WORK Architecture Company (WORKac).

Amale Andraos and Dan Wood, principals of WORKac shared, “We are very excited at the opportunity to work with the Iris Foundation and NHD on this critically important project for one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Our master plan balances preservation with innovation, respecting St Petersburg’s past while paving the way for its continued artistic development and future.”

A few years ago we had a chance to visit WORKac at their studio in New York and spoke with principals Amale Andraos and Dan Wood (be sure to take a look at our interview with them!)  More on this winning proposal by WORKac along with renderings and drawings following the break.

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Courtesy of St. Petersburg, Florida

The prominent waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida, active since the late 19th century, will be host to an international design competition to replace the current landmark pier with a new, iconic pier structure. Interested parties must register for the competition by July 8, 2011. Submission of the Statement of Qualifications will be due on July 19, 2011.

Design teams interested in obtaining information on the city’s request for qualifications must visit the Competition website.

© Moris Moreno

This week marked the grand opening for the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The new building‘s 68,000 sqf doubles the size of the original one storey warehouse Dali Museum built in 1982.

Utilizing free-form geodesic geometry, the triangulated glass organically flows around and attaches to the rigid unfinished concrete box, a play of hard and soft, protecting Dali’s paintings and simultaneously providing natural daylight and openness to the adjacent bay. This is the first use of this type of free-form geodesic geometry in the United States.

Mesmerizing visitors within the museum is the coiled concrete form that greets them at the reception desk. The poured in place raw concrete spiral staircase is fitted with light cable-stayed stainless steel guardrails. The material choices provide a subtle juxtaposition along with an obvious nod to Dali’s allure with the double helix and other spiral forms in nature.

If you are a frequent ArchDaily reader you may recall our updates on the Salvador Dali Museum.   Take a minute to check our previous articles with construction photographs and a video feature.

More photographs and further project description following the break.

Architects: HOK
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Programming and Master Planning: HOK
HOK Design Team: Duncan Broyd, Eva Busato, David Chason, Jenny Collins Miers, Susan Dame, Carly Debacker, Gary Erickson, Ralph Evans, Miranda Hensley, Will Hollingsworth, Scott Hughes, Laura Matson, Foard Meriwether, Eddie Pabon, Van Phrasavath, Lynn Puckett, Mary Sabel, Oliver Schwarz, Tommy Sinclair, Nicole Stearley, Izzy Torres, Anna Vasquez, Yann Weymouth, Sean Williams
General Contractor: The Beck Group
Glass Structure Consultant: Novum Structures LLC
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore & Associates Inc.
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer: TLC Engineering for Architecture
Program Manager: Peter Arendt
Acoustical Consultant: Siebein Associates Inc.
Civil Engineer: WilsonMiller Stantec Inc.
Landscape Architect: Phil Graham and Company
Lighting Designer: George Sexton Associates
Code Consultant: Rolf Jensen & Associates Inc.
Food Service Consultant: Schwartz Schwartz & Associates
Graphics/Signage Consultant: Dan Meeker Design
Hardware Consultant: S.B.S. Associates, Inc.
Client: Salvador Dalí Museum
Project Area: 68,000 sqf
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Moris Moreno, Michael Rixon

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Via Okhta Center

As we reported back in 2009, RMJM‘s proposed Okhta Center was the subject of heated debate as residents of St Peterburg’s wanted nothing to do with the tower which was regarded as a “symbol of political ego.”  Yet, as Record shared, the tower is set to move ahead after receiving a construction permit from Glavgosekspertiza, the body in charge of issuing building permits.  Towering 403 meters into the skyline, the building will become the highest in Europe and as we’ve seen with Nouvel’s proposal for 53rd Street, Pelli Clarke Pelli’s 15 Penn Plaza and Frank Gehry’s Beekman Tower, adding a big change to the skyline sparks big controversy.   In St. Petersburg, approximately 3,000 people gathered to protest the project which is being developed by gas giant Gazprom and is backed by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.  In addition to strong public opposition, BD reported that Russian authorities were reviewing RMJM’s design following a report from Unesco’s World Heritage Committee, which has repeatedly threatened to strip the city of its World Heritage Site status if the tower as originally planned is built.  The tower still needs a construction permit from City Hall, which, as Record reported, has backed the project from the start.

More images after the break. read more »

Last week we presented you the current status of Salvador Dali’s Museum in St. Petersburg, FL.

WTSP tours the building with architect Yann Weymouth, revealing more on the interior.

© HOK + Beck Group

HOK, along with Beck Group, has designed a new museum to house the works of Salvador Dalí in St. Petersburg, Florida. The architecture, greatly inspired by the great surrealist, “combines elements of the classical and the fantastical,” according to the director of the museum. The design speaks to the essence of Dalí while incorporating functional elements to combat Florida’s tough weather.

More images and more about the museum after the break. read more »

Controversy is surrounding the latest design of the 400 meter tower for Gazprom, a Russian energy company.  Designed by RMJM, the tower, known as Okhta Center, will dominate the skyline, towering over the spire of St. Peter and Paul Cathedral.  The new design may actually become the tallest building in Europe, which begs the question that even though we have the capability of building taller and larger, should that be our priority?

More about the tower after the break. read more »

UNStudio’s design has won a competition to build a 21,000 square meter dance theatre in the historic centre of St. Petersburg, Russia. The new complex houses the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, headed by choreographer Boris Eifman.

From the four projects presented (Jean Nouvel, UNStudio, Snøhetta & Zao), UNStudio’s design was yesterday unanimously chosen by the jury for realisation.

Seen at designboom. Architect’s description and more images after the break. read more »