Tampa Bay Skyscraper

THE SITE

The site, located in Downtown Tampa, is highly charged with culture; the modern art museum, the children’s museum, a library, a performing arts center, the University of Tampa, and a park are some of the existing programmatic components of the site. With this programmatic context in mind, I proposed to create a multicultural institute and hotel to enhance the cultural aspect of downtown Tampa.

 

PROGRAM

The main purpose of the building is to welcome Tampa’s cultural landscape and welcome those who want to learn about its richness. The building is unified by one continuous, monolithic, perforated boundary that acts as a ribbon wall throughout the vertical structure. The boundary starts from one side of the building, becomes a ceiling, which separates the multicultural institute and embassies from the hotel, and finally folds to become a wall for the private hotel. The perforated boundary separates the two programs while at the same time keeps them in union. The embassy and the cultural institute are to be experienced in one void. The perforated boundary reveals the various programs within the building; offices, exhibition spaces, conference rooms, and a theater are part of the program.