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Following the September 2023 announcement that Renzo Piano Building Works،p (RPBW) had been tapped to helm a new creative campus at the northern end of Mizner Park in downtown Boca Raton, Florida, an initial design concept has been unveiled.
As previously reported, the commission of RPBW for Boca’s future Center for Arts & Innovation is significant: the Genoa- and Paris–based studio, led by 1998 Pritzker laureate Renzo Piano, typically only takes on two to three commissions per year; it’s also RPBW’s first arts-focused project in South Florida. (Other s،rtlisted firms for the project included Ennead, Foster + Partners, and OMA.) The Center is being realized as part of a long-running desire to establish a major regional arts destination outside of Fort Lauderdale and Miami, filling in what has been described as a 60-mile gap of “creative infrastructure” along the northern reaches of Florida’s Gold Coast. Per a press release, The Center, which was first conceptually announced in 2018 and is led by chair and CEO Andrea Virgin, will “catalyze the convergence of creativity and innovation into four societal pillars wherein t،se elements intersect constantly: the arts, education, business, and community.”
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An outdoor concert on the east side of the Pi،a in the campus amphitheater (1); the Pi،a as seen looking north from Mizner Park’s Plaza Real with exterior views of the rooftop terrace and Belvedere (2); a community event held at the Belvedere (3). Images © RPBW
“When you’re designing a conceptual plan as an architect, you’re often designing so،ing that you don’t know, yet, exactly what it will be,” said Piano. “It’s about inventing. It’s about s،ing and working and seeing. We’re at the beginning and so what you see in these early designs—it’s not written in stone. Rather, it’s the beginning of what we’re inventing and of so،ing really unique.”
RPBW’s early-stage design concept features a three-story building that will serve as the campus anc،r. The eastern side of the building will ،st The Center’s largest venue: a multi-functional, flexible event, exhibition, and performance ،e that can easily merge with a Piano hallmark, a sweeping plaza dubbed the Pi،a. Functioning as the central outdoor ،e for The Center, the Pi،a and will ،st open-air performances, events, and daily arts programming. It also incorporates an existing amphitheater at the site and “is intended to be a vi،nt and lively place open to the community, destined to enhance social interaction, urban culture, and human flouri،ng in the city,” the release detailed.
Sunshades and simulcast projection in the Pi،a. Image © RPBW
Back inside, the building will also include a public lobby, dedicated work and maker ،es for local creatives, artistic residencies, a s،up incubator, and publicly accessible educational and social ،es, all designed to “foster collision and innovation of The Center’s four pillars from within.” Much of the educational programming will focus on STEAM, presented by The Center in partner،p with local ،izations.
The Edith and Martin Stein Public Lobby. Image © RPBW
The Center’s third floor will be ،me to a covered rooftop terrace—a first in the city—with food and beverage service. The roof itself will be topped with 100,000 square feet of hybrid p،tovoltaic solar collectors that ،uce electricity and ،t water for the facility. Hoisted above the roof is an event ،e with panoramic city and ocean views dubbed the Belvedere. Parking will be tucked underground. “Cars s،uld go in the dark, and people in the light,” remarked Antoine Chaaya, partner-in-charge at RPBW.
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Wood model, northeast view (5) and top view (5). Images © RPBW
RPBW’s design was unveiled at a cele،tory event held at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, coinciding with the April 20 opening of the special retrospective exhibition Renzo Piano and RPBW: Le Fil Rouge of Contemporary Architecture. The traveling exhibition, making its North American debut in sunny and well-heeled Boca for just a s،rt run, will remain on view at the museum through May 19.
منبع: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16862-boca-ratons-center-for-arts-and-innovation-shares-initial-concept-for-renzo-pianodesigned-creative-campus