An early rendering of The Bay Park with a new Sarasota performing arts center was created to give a sense of how the grounds might look when completed. Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been hired to design the actual performing arts center. COURTESY OF THE VAN WEZEL FOUNDATION.
Architects to Give Preview of Designs for New Sarasota Performing Arts Center
ARTS
Architects to give preview of designs for new Sarasota Performing Arts Center
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The public will get a first glimpse of the initial ideas developed by the architects hired to design a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center during two town hall sessions on Sept. 18.
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the Italian firm selected as design architects for the project, will provide updates on the development of their work and seek feedback from attendees.
Plans for the new performing arts center grew out of discussions about the need for a larger venue than the 1,700-seat Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the desire to transform the Sarasota Bayfront around the hall into a public park. The first phase of the park opened in October 2022, and the second is expected to be completed in late 2026.
The new venue, which is being overseen by the Foundation in partnership with the City of Sarasota, which owns the land, is expected to have about 2,200 seats in its main theater and a smaller flexible seating holding about 300 people. It will essentially supplant the Van Wezel as the main center for touring Broadway shows, comedy, concerts, dance and more. A special panel appointed by the City of Sarasota is exploring alternative uses for the 54-year-old Van Wezel.
Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, CEO of the foundation, said the new building could be completed by 2030.
Performing Arts Center town hall sessions
Representatives from Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the design architects, and Sarasota-based Sweet Sparkman, the architect of record, and others will talk about the project and get input from the public during two sessions on Sept. 18. Noon-1:30 p.m. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 6-7:30 p.m., Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 John Rivers St. (34th St.) Sarasota. Childcare will be provided by foundation teaching artists in the evening. To RSVP: performingartsfoundation.org/ask-our-architects
PFM leadership has been serving as a consultant to the City and is a part of the team attending the town halls.
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