Burns Square Chalk Festival

Burns Square recently sponsored a street art event featuring chalk drawings. Artists ranging from young to old and amateur to professional participated. The drawings were amazing.

Denise Kowal, the organizer, has indicated this would be an annual event.

Sarasota Architectural Foundation Invite

The SARASOTA ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION in association with SCOPE and the SARASOTA COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL presents:

Revive Rudolph's Riverview –
Campaign For Preservation & Recommended Adaptive Use Design

When: Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where: Roskamp Center for the Arts & Humanity
1226 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

SAF will discuss the campaign for preserving Paul Rudolph's Riverview High School, including a showing of the Metropolis film Site Specific.

Mark Smith, AIA FL President and member of the Revive Rudolph’s Riverview Committee will discuss the program.

The team that submitted the recommended adaptive use design – RMJM Hillier with Diane Lewis Architect and Beckelman+ Capalino, LLC, New York, NY, with Seibert Architects, Sarasota, FL – will present their proposal for the Riverview Music Quadrangle.

There will also be a display of the proposals by the other three finalist teams:
Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, Atlanta, GA, in association with John McAslan + Partners, London; Mark S. Kauffman, Developer, The ADP Group, Architects, Sarasota, FL; and The Folsom Group and TOTeMS Architecture, Inc. Sarasota, FL.

This event is free and open to the public.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Samantha Allard
Sarasota Architectural Foundation
941.365.4723
www.sarasotaarchitecturalfoundation.org

Rudolph's Riverview Closer to Being Saved

Harold Bubil has commented on progress made this last week toward saving the Paul Rudolph designed Riverview high School. The school board is in the process of rebuilding the entire campus, but has allowed proposals for saving the Rudolph building if the cost is not increased and the timetable is not delayed.

Harold's column says in part:

There's still a long way to go, but the effort to save the Paul Rudolph-designed buildings at Riverview High took a big step this week.

The Sarasota Architectural Foundation's Revive Rudolph's Riverview committee presented proposals to the Sarasota County School Board, which is building a new complex at the 42-acre site on Proctor Road.

Five architect-developer teams participated in the Request for Proposals process; one team withdrew. The four remaining proposals were ranked in order and presented to the School Board on Tuesday.

The first-ranked proposal, which called for an adaptive use that would join the historic and new RHS buildings, was dismissed by School Board members because it did not fit the criteria set forth by the board: the Rudolph project could not delay or add cost to the new RHS project.

That leaves the second-ranked proposal -- something called the Riverview Music Quadrangle.

Submitted by the design team of RMJM Hillier, with Diane Lewis Architect and Beckelman+Capalino of New York, and Seibert Architects of Sarasota, this plan calls for "a collaborative environment for new and existing Sarasota music activities," according to a statement by the Revive Rudolph's Riverview committee. "It would complement the Riverview High School and other Sarasota County school music programs, and it would provide studio space and performance venues for community groups and orchestras."

This and other proposals will be shown to the public on at 5 PM, Thursday (Nov 29) at the Roskamp Center on the North Trail.

More information can be found at the SAF Revive Riverview site.

New Historical Marker

Recently Sarasota unveiled a new Historical Marker.

This marker recognizes the first motel that was built on the beach on Lido Key. It was constructed in 1950.

Today it is a condominium with individual owners who rent their units to visitors. The owners have indicated they wish to keep the character of the 50's motel intact.

The scale and design of the Gulf Beach Resort Motel does remind visitors of an earlier, slower lifestyle enjoyed by Florida west coast visitors.

The motel is located on Ben Franklin Drive, Lido Key.