ROSEMARY SQUARE

PLATINUM WINNNER

ROSEMARY SQUARE

SOLSTICE PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

The Rosemary District, adjacent to downtown Sarasota, isknown as the Cultural Capital of Florida. The vision for Rosemary Square was to create a “living room” for the neighborhood, which had become rundown over recent decades and without any form of public park. From the beginning, the goal was to bring arts organizations into the project. In order to keep the rents down and more accessible for nonprofits, the architect embraced an industrial aesthetic—combining functionality with design. Concrete blocks and galvanized metal purposely evoke the feeling of a city warehouse district. Vivid colors accent walls and outdoor hallways, inspired by the practice of the École des Beaux-Arts to paint bold colors through their building sections. Rosemary Square features numerous green aspects. The project color palette is mostly white (walls and roof) to reduce the amount of solar radiation and heat absorption. Building forms were designed and composed to create natural cross-ventilation in the courtyard—with breezes present even in the middle of summer. With the project’s completion, the surrounding neighborhood exploded with activity, including 1,500 new housing units within walking distance of Rosemary Square. The result is a new hub for not only the surrounding district but the city of Sarasota.

Architect: Jonathan Parks AIA, SOLSTICE Planning and Architecture. Contractor: Gilbane Building Company. Developer: Rosemary Square LLC / Mark Kaufman. Interior Design: SOLSTICE Planning and Architecture. Structural Engineer: Snell Engineering Consultants. Mechanical Engineer: Global Sanchex, Inc. Landscape Architect: Kimley- Horn & Associates. Overton Contractor: Ritz Construction Corp. Sarasota Ballet School Contractor: Firmo Construction. Photography: Dylan Jon Wade Cox, Andrea Hillebrand, INSTUDIO E Photo, Ryan Gamma.