Dr. P Phillips Orlando Performing Arts Center [Phase 2 Under Construction]

[UPSDAN]

I agree it didn't turn out good

[JFW657]

The round building could have had a new exterior put on & possibly a couple of floors added on top. Would have created an interesting look. 

 

I had always hoped that someday they would add about 10 or 15 floors to that building.

[HankStrong]

I have always found that round building to be really unpleasant to see. It probably could have been saved. Amusingly, the part I hated the most is the only part of it that's getting preserved!

 

 

No joke on that.  I'm trying to figure out who thought they needed to save that weird mess hanging randomly from the outside of the building.

 

My exact reaction when I heard that people were actually FIGHTING to save that concrete lattice stuff was: "This reminds me of that Hoarders show where they grab the dirty, empty Chinese take-out case and insist it can't be thrown away because it has great value to them."

[orlandoguy]

Did you see some of the proposals for the reuse of the brise soleil panels? There were some really stunning submittals to turn them into public art.

Art is certainly in the eye of the beholder but we should be thrilled there are public groups in the city that are willing to fight to preserve what little architectural history we have.

[JFW657]

Did you see some of the proposals for the reuse of the brise soleil panels? There were some really stunning submittals to turn them into public art.

Art is certainly in the eye of the beholder but we should be thrilled there are public groups in the city that are willing to fight to preserve what little architectural history we have.

 

Damn straight.

 

Those things stood in that spot for several decades & saw a lot of this area's history. 

 

Not to mention the fact that they were unique.

 

Breaking them up into pieces & hauling them off to the scrap yard would have been a travesty.

[HankStrong]

I still don't see it.  They were ugly concrete quasi-diamond shapes that randomly wrapped around the lower portion of a round, but otherwise 100% non-descript 70s building that hadn't be properly maintained for decades.

 

It looked like the paper packing material you sometimes get when you order online. 

http://www.staples.com/Caremail-Greenwrap/product_737645

 

This is why diluting your voice when you say "save this historical place" is a bad idea.  If people scream to save everything, the legitimately historical items or architecturally fascinating items don't get the support they deserve.

[FLClarkKent]

I still don't see it.  They were ugly concrete quasi-diamond shapes that randomly wrapped around the lower portion of a round, but otherwise 100% non-descript 70s building that hadn't be properly maintained for decades.

 

It looked like the paper packing material you sometimes get when you order online. 

http://www.staples.com/Caremail-Greenwrap/product_737645

 

This is why diluting your voice when you say "save this historical place" is a bad idea.  If people scream to save everything, the legitimately historical items or architecturally fascinating items don't get the support they deserve.

 

When it was first built, it was only two stories. The concrete lattice work covered nearly the entire structure, giving it a cool look (IMO). At some point, an additional five floors were added. I think the addition took away from the impact of the original design. Here's a link to some photos of the original structure. http://www.hypeorlando.com/forever-young-but-growing-old/tag/american-federal-sl/

 

And here's a link that includes one of the proposed re-purposing of the concrete panels. http://nextround.org/

[FLClarkKent]

I have to say, the building really looks awkward with only phase 1 complete. It just looks wrong since it was such a symmetric design. If phase 2 falls through and we are left with only this, it will be a joke.

 

It is very asymmetrical, especially when viewed straight on. I had assumed they would have built the shell of the third space, just to keep the exterior symmetry in order. While I'm sure that was a decision born of budget constraints, it will also serve as a visual reminder that the building is not yet finished. My hunch is that as soon as the first Broadway season is under their belt, the DPAC folks will begin work on Phase 2.

[HankStrong]

So, it looked a lot better when it was 2 stories.  As soon as they built it higher, it became a non-descript 70s building and that ship sailed.

 

 

Thanks for the link.  Interesting.

[prahaboheme]

No one is "diluting" his/her voice by raising awareness and advocating for the preservation of historical structures.  So many worthy structures have been lost in this country due to shortsightedness.  Hasn't Orlando lost enough?

[John Hargrove]

No one is "diluting" his/her voice by raising awareness and advocating for the preservation of historical structures.  So many worthy structures have been lost in this country due to shortsightedness.  Hasn't Orlando lost enough?

 

Very possible to dilute your own opinions by speaking up every time a building gets destroyed. I'm not saying that's happening here, but it's very possible to undermine your own initiatives by raising a stink all the time.

 

For example, I'm an animal lover. I've had pets all my life whom I've treated as members of my family. I donate to animal charities with a fair regularity. And yet I can't take certain over-the-top animal rights organizations seriously because it runs up against my inherent pragmatism.

 

Not arguing for or against this particular building, or making a statement about anyone on this board ... I just think it's important to point out that you very much can undermine yourself if you're not careful.

[prahaboheme]

castorvx, I hear what you say.  It is important to stand up for the right cause at the right time.  My opinion on this is such that saving the round building is worth that fight.  Others may disagree.

[prahaboheme]

Food for thought:  If the round building originated in Miami's MiMo district, would it be receiving the same fate as it is in Orlando?

[RedStar25]

The round building was hideous from day one and made worse over the years. Lets not forget historic structures were raised to create space for this building and its surface parking lot. It served its purpose and now is giving way to something much more iconic.  

[JFW657]

They could have easily re-modeled the RB's exterior & made to fit in to the DPAC design, while also keeping the Brise Soleil.

 

They even could have added more floors to it.

 

I think it's a shame to waste a perfectly good structure.

 

Plus, I like round/cylindrical buildings & that was Orlando's only one.

 

I think it would have looked great standing there at about 12 - 15 stories with a new exterior.

 

Oh well.

[FrankNash]

DPAC is just stunning! 

[Boomer136]

The Sheraton Four Points says, "What am I? Chopped liver?"

[John Hargrove]

The Sheraton Four Points says, "What am I? Chopped liver?"

 

Or, you know ... 

 

 

Side note: am I the only one who always thinks Winnie Palmer looks like it has a bunch of windows boarded up? Odd design.

[nite owℓ]

^^The design reminds me of morse code transmission... and the planks look even stranger up close. Interesting how the $100M WPH can win repeated architectural awards, but people are more than happy to see the RB demolished.

[JFW657]

I suppose I should have specified Orlando's only round building in the central downtown core. 

 

Winnie Palmer looks like a stack of 55 gallon oil drums.  

 

 

[Boomer136]

Not the only reason they are sometimes refered to as the "Dark Towers". Extra Steven King points if you can find the rose in the landscaping.

[HankStrong]

No one is "diluting" his/her voice by raising awareness and advocating for the preservation of historical structures.  So many worthy structures have been lost in this country due to shortsightedness.  Hasn't Orlando lost enough?

 

My point has kind of already been made, but as respectfully as I can be, it's absolutely possible to make your voice diluted by advocating for every building.

 

You like this building, cool. 

 

There are some individuals that want to fight for every building, when the point is, you have to tear stuff down to make a better downtown.  Orlando circa 1968 wasn't a hotbed of superior architecture.  BUT I've met people over the years that completely ignore things until they are about to be demolished and then (figuratively or literally) want to strap themselves to them to prevent them from being removed.

 

A great example of that is Tinker Field.  No one gave a rat's butt about that field until someone said it was going away and then suddenly it became the single reason Orlando exists, the source of the Fountain of Youth, the cure for cancer, the cultural center for lasting world peace, and 2nd only to Cooperstown in the significance to baseball history.  Where were these people for the last 20 years when the place was rotting away?  Where were these people when the paint was peeling and the boards were warping?  Where were they when people were abusing this place with sex, drugs, and gang activity?  SUPPOSEDLY, it is now being saved.  These people will all go back into the woodwork and never think about it again, until 10 years from now when it's in even worse condition and someone wants to build there and the people will come running out again to save it.

[prahaboheme]

 

 Orlando circa 1968 wasn't a hotbed of superior architecture. 

 

A compelling reason to preserve what little is left.

 

Another good example from the era worthy of preservation is the 1966 Orlando Public Library by architect John Johansen.  He was a member of the "Harvard Five" alongside modernists Philip Johnson, Landis Gores, Marcel Breuer.  He studied under Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus movement.

[jrs2]

^^

Dpac:  the part that juts out over Magnolia- is that white frame looking railing on its roof temporary?  it looks like there are glass railings on that in those photos.

[spenser1058]

I'll have more on this in another post as it's an important topic - suffice it to say, a lot of it has to do with the fact that those of us supporting preservation have been constantly lied to over the years by this administration. There have been so many buildings doomed to demolition by neglect while promises were made the entire time that changes were coming if we just waited until things were worked out. Those promises continued right up until the night the bulldozers arrived in the case of the Jaymont Block, just to mention one.

 

In the case of Tinker Field, we kept being told that we had to wait for the city to get around to attracting another minor-league baseball team. When we suggested that Tinker was significant for reasons other than baseball as it became apparent any such team was likely to be placed in another part of town, we were ignored. Once again, that was the M.O. right up until city staff got around to announcing that, oops!, we forgot to mention that we need to tear down Tinker for the expansion of the Citrus Bowl with ZERO warning. The preservationists aren't the problem - an administration that cannot be trusted is.

 

What's humorous to me is how so many are willing to sacrifice great examples of architecture by notable architects (as praha mentioned with OPL - the Amherst Apartments on Colonial Drive is another that comes to mind) and to replace them with yet another visored piece of hackwork by a nobody at Baker Barrios. But that's progress!