by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Jacksonville’s future skyline is coming downtown this week for a one-week sneak preview.
Some of Jacksonville’s most innovative building designs will be on display at several downtown locations this week as the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects presents Architecture Week. The annual event has grown in stature. This year it kicked off with a proclamation from Mayor John Peyton, and is now recognized as one of the premier architectural showcases in the state.
Architecture Week comprises a week-long series of design displays and lectures from top architects. The event also recognizes the top local designs. Awards are given for the best work done on the drawing board and the best finished product. If the displays in the built category are the feature presentation, then the unbuilt designs are the coming attractions, said Scott Crawford, an architect at Cannon Design, who helped organize the event.
“I think what you’re starting to see, as Jacksonville’s citizens are becoming more into art and culture, is that the demand is starting to build for architecture that pushes the envelope a little bit more,” said Crawford. “Jacksonville is a city that’s always been known for sort of conservative architecture. Now some architecture is starting to emerge that raises a few eyebrows.”
This year’s Architecture Week focuses on those emerging designs. The Thursday night design awards gala at the Omni is themed, “Vision on the River: What’s Next for Jacksonville.” And while the built awards recognize completed projects, it’s the drawing board designs that generate the most buzz, said Crawford.
He’s speaking from experience. Crawford worked on Cannon’s design for the University of Florida’s Fisher School of Accounting Building, which won the award for best unbuilt design. After the building opened in 2003, Cannon submitted the design for best built architecture, but fell just short. Buildings must be occupied to compete in the built category.
Crawford was just a week out of graduate school at UF when he was hired at Cannon. The Fisher Building was his first project. Crawford’s recent experience as a student paid off. He brought a student’s perspective to the team that helped create an efficient design that was a winner for its aesthetics and for its ease of use.
The winners this week will likely feature a similar blend of form and function, said Crawford.
“I can’t speak for this year’s jurors, but generally you’re looking for a concise design with an understandable logic to it,” he said. “You’re looking at the reasoning behind the decisions that were made.”
This year’s distinguished jurors come from Tigerman McCurry, a Chicago architecture firm with a reputation for innovative design and build projects. Stanley Tigerman received two architectural degrees from Yale University and has designed buildings across the world. Margaret McCurry received a graduate degree from the Harvard University school of design. In 1990, she was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame.
In addition to the awards gala at the Omni Hotel, Architecture Week will feature the 2005 Fellows Luncheon Wednesday at the River Club at 11:30 a.m. That’s followed Wednesday evening with the Distinguished Juror’s Lecture at the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art. Cocktails begin at 5 p.m. at Cafe Nola, followed by the lecture from Tigerman and McCurry at 5:45. All the events are open to the public. Admission costs range from $25 for the Fellows Luncheon to $45 for the awards gala.