ARCHITECTURAL ADVENTURE

Winter Park’s new Library & Events Center, slated to open in December 2021, will be a place for learning, gathering and creating. The two adjacent buildings are massive works of architectural art that will soon provide an extraordinary setting for other creative genres — ranging from sculptures to paintings.

The $41.2 million campus, which occupies 23 acres in the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Park, was designed by Sir David Adjaye, founder of Adjaye Associates with offices in London, New York and Ghana. Orlando-based HuntonBrady Architects worked in conjunction with Adjaye on arguably the most important civic project in the city’s history.

Getting to this point has been quite an adventure. In 2016, voters narrowly approved a $30 million bond issue for the project. However, knowing that additional sources of revenue would be required, city commissioners opted for such enhancements as a rooftop venue, an outdoor amphitheater, a sloped auditorium at the library and a portecochère (covered entrance) at the events center.

For the most part — and not without some angst — the tab has been covered. Orange County put up $6 million in Tourist Development Tax money after local leaders positioned the project as an attraction for visitors, and the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency committed another $1.2 million out of its coffers.

The balance was to come from philanthropy, which was bolstered in May 2021 when Philip and Sigrid Tiedtke, through the Florida Charities Foundation, donated $750,000 to build the amphitheater — which will be named, appropriately, the Tiedtke Amphitheater.

Adjaye’s involvement alone ensures that the project will attract international attention from aficionados of architecture. Previous Adjaye commissions include the Smithsonian Institution’s 665,000-squarefoot National Museum of African American Culture and History, with three tiers of inverted half-pyramids wrapped in ornamental metal latticework. Other striking Adjaye-designed structures include the 460,000-squarefoot Moscow School of Management, with four elongated buildings precariously perched over its large circular base, and the 82,000-squarefoot Studio Museum in Harlem, with huge niches on its glass-and-concrete façade to display works of sculpture.

But Adjaye, as it turns out, has a particular affinity for libraries and an interest in their evolution from “simply repositories for books to spaces for multigenerational social incubating.”

His two neighborhood public libraries in Washington, D.C., were described by the Washington Post as having “well-channeled exuberance, a playfulness that is never merely arbitrary … [they] deserve to be on any serious architectural tour of the District.”

In London, Adjaye designed two Idea Stores, which are rebranded public libraries that encompass the attributes of civic centers and exude a hipper, more welcoming vibe.

“Civic projects are very much at the heart of my practice,” says Adjaye, who was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “It’s not so much about big or small as it is about the chance to make a 21st-century community centerpiece that engages the beauty of the park, maximizes social interactive spaces and holds collaborative learning at its core.”

Although the project has been well publicized, its connections to artists and the visual arts has been overshadowed by stories about the inevitable challenges that accompany major construction projects.

Did you know, for example, that the campus will encompass three bronze castings of renowned sculptures by Albin Polasek? The trio of powerfully symbolic works by the Czech master, who lived and worked in Winter Park from 1950 until his death in 1965, are on longterm loan from the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens.

Man Carving His Own Destiny, originally created in 1907, will move from the current library and be joined by Mother Crying Over the World, originally created in 1942, and Victory of Moral Law, originally created in 1957. They’ll likely be positioned along a pathway in the vicinity of the amphitheater and Lake Rose.

“These works were created out of Mr. Polasek’s passion for the world,” says Debbie Komanski, the museum’s executive director and CEO. “Over the years, our visitors have responded so well to them that we thought this was a great opportunity to share them and have them be seen by many more people.”

Komanski adds that the castings offered to the city by the museum were made by Polasek for his personal enjoyment. Original versions of all three works will remain on display at the artist’s Mediterraneanstyle compound along the shores of Lake Osceola.

Of course, Polasek’s creations are already familiar to Winter Parkers. In addition to the 200-plus pieces on display at the museum, Forest Idyl, originally created in 1924, fronts City Hall, while Emily, originally created in 1961 and now usually called “the Emily Fountain,” has become iconic in Central Park. The latter piece was named for (and is thought to be) an image of Polasek’s second wife.

In addition, the city plans to either commission or acquire an existing “signature sculpture” that will be placed between the 35,000-squarefoot library and the 18,000-square-foot events center. “We should emphasize that it’s unlikely to be here for the grand opening,” says City Manager Randy Knight, who professes no preconceptions about what form the work (or works) might take.

The budget for the sculpture, including installation, is about $500,000. Selection recommendations will be made to the city commission by the Public Art Advisory Board along with three community

The Winter Park Library & Events Center (above) — designed by world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye in partnership with local architecture firm HuntonBrady — is slated to open in late 2021. Among Adjaye’s most notable recent projects is the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Among the campus’ most outdoor notable features will be an amphitheater (below) fronting Lake Mendsen, which was made possible by a gift from Philip and Sigrid Tiedtke and their Florida Charities Foundation.

members and Russell Crader, associate principal of Adjaye Associates based in the firm’s New York office. A curator will also be hired to lend additional expertise.

Inside, the library will showcase about 35 past Best of Show winners from previous Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festivals. There are 55 past winners on display at the current facility, but the in-demand advisory board will curate the burgeoning collection and select those most appropriate for the new location.

Crader, who has spent considerable time in Winter Park, says Adjaye’s firm pursued the Library & Events Center project to demonstrate that small cities can have impactful public buildings.

“The WPA (Works Progress Administration) brought with it some powerful public architecture,” says Crader, referring to the New Deal agency that built schools, theaters, armories and libraries during the Great Depression. “That doesn’t seem to happen so much now.”

It’s true that most taxpayer-funded buildings erected in an era of austerity won’t stand the test of time. Now Winter Park has one that will.

LIBRARY

The new Winter Park Library will offer the following new features: n A commons area with a living-room feel for reading and socializing. n A 122-seat education and performance space. n Tech-equipped work rooms for collaborative projects. n A business center for entrepreneurs and creatives. n Social spaces near age-appropriate book collections. n A computer lab with the newest software and hands-on instruction. n Private study rooms. n An automated checkout and return system.

It will also offer improvements: n An upgraded Genius Lab with 3D printers and a studio with audio and video production as well as trained staffers to assist users. n More items to borrow, many of them unusual or unexpected, including technology, fishing poles, binoculars, instruments and more. n An expanded history and archive area with climate-controlled space for storage of valued materials and classroom space for research. n A larger story room adjacent to a flex-size multipurpose room that will double capacity for early literacy classes and creative arts events. n Thirty percent more collection capacity for library materials.

EVENTS CENTER

The new Winter Park Events Center will feature: n A grand ballroom that accommodates up to 250 people seated at tables or up to 320 people seated theater style. n A rooftop meeting room that accommodates up to 50 people. n A rooftop terrace with a beautiful view of Martin Luther King Jr.

Park that accommodates up to 150 people. n An outdoor performance space, the Tiedtke Amphitheater, that fronts Lake Mendsen. n A covered porte cochère for convenient pickup and dropoff. n Specially designed dressing rooms for weddings and special occasions.

The events center is expected to generate more than $11 million in annual event-related economic impact, mostly from weddings. The city has contracts with a half-dozen caterers and is already taking reservations on a first-come, first-served basis. n