Reinventing St. Petersburg's Waterfront

Suzanne LaBarre has the details on Michael Maltzan and Tom Leader Studio's competition winning entry to reinvent the Florida city's outdated waterfront.

1 minute read

January 29, 2012, 5:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

Stunning renderings show the design ideas behind The Lens, a clean energy-powered concrete canopy with curving walkways and an underwater reef.

Of its clean energy bonifides, LaBarre reports that, "Wind turbines, PV panels, and rainwater collection systems count among the proposed methods for powering the new pier. As for that magnifying glass / wave / sail / crown / living room / lens: It's a canopy embedded with micro-turbines and shaped to maximize wind-energy production."

The design team was even able to utilize the existing aging peer to good effect. "Remains of the old pier form the basis of a new reef. Visible to the public, it's designed to help regenerate surrounding sea life with a 2.5-acre oyster habitat that's big enough to clean 20 million gallons of sea water a day."

FULL STORY: A Massive Proposal To Turn A Florida Pier Into A Floating Urban Park

Thursday, January 26, 2012 in Fast Company Co.Design

Landscape Architecture Florida St. Petersburg The Lens Michael Maltzan Tom Leader Studio View More

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