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Students urged to design arts center
By JULIE CHURCH
© St. Petersburg Times, OLDSMAR -- The Oldsmar Cultural Arts Foundation is offering students at five Florida universities the opportunity to provide the conceptual design for the foundation's proposed performing arts center. The foundation has written to architecture schools at the University of Florida, University of South Florida, Florida A&M, Florida International University and the University of Miami to gauge interest in a student design contest. The foundation wants to involve students in part so it can qualify for a state facilities grant that requires community involvement, said Jan Sapiega, the foundation's building committee coordinator. The designs also will help the non-profit foundation save money, since it won't have to hire an architect for the project's conceptual design. "We don't have the money to hire an architect at this point," she said. The initial concept could also be used as a fundraising tool for the foundation. "By doing this, we can create a master plan that will involve the public in raising money for the building," said David Wallace, president of foundation's board of directors. "We can say to them, "Here's what we're going to do.' " The Cultural Arts Foundation wants to build a 20,000-square-foot building on 2 acres owned by the city of Oldsmar. An older building at 402 St. Petersburg Drive is now being used as an arts center, and the two buildings probably could co-exist on the same site. About $22,000 has been raised so far toward a project estimated to cost $2-million. All student designs would be presented to the public before a panel makes a recommendation. Once a concept is chosen, an architectural firm would build on that in drawing the plans for the performing arts center. The idea of using students to design concepts for municipal buildings is familiar to Stephen Schreiber, director of the School of Architectural and Community Design at the University of South Florida. "Competitions are a fairly regular part of design education and also in the practice of architecture," Schreiber said. "Our students have done all sorts of contests in the past." The foundation is offering a $1,000 scholarship to the student or team that submits the winning design. In addition, $1,000 will be donated to the winning school.
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From the Times |
