Rogers Partners & ASD to team up for new St. Petersburg pier

St. Petersburg is getting a new pier — again. A group of Tampa-based architects, including ASD, Rogers Partners Architects+Urban Designers, and Ken Smith Landscape Architect have been announced as the winners of the second St. Petersburg Pier redesign competition.

After the Florida city decided not to implement the original design proposed by Michael Maltzen Architecture due to strong public opposition, a new competition was announced. “Pier Park,” the winning proposal, takes a more scaled down (and affordable) approach to redesigning the site’s landmark 1970s pier by focusing on public experience rather than “architectural intervention.”

The new concept is designed for comfort, providing visitors with shade and cover that can be adapted over time for various activities. There will be a welcome center; bar and grill; a “tilted lawn,” for concerts up to 4,000 people. There will also be classroom areas for water-based “wet” activities as well as an education center, gardens and durable floating docks. “It’s where you can go if you have 50 cents or 50 dollars,” says landscape architect Ken Smith, commenting in Arch Daily on the pier’s desire to be a place for everyone.

By integrating aspects of the original building like the caissons and elevator shafts, the new plan will transform the pier’s “inverted pyramid into a four-level building topped with a fabric roof that offers air-conditioned lobbies and events spaces on each floor.” There will also be a promenade of splash pads, shade and thickets of natural vegetation to access it.

Although Pier Park was chosen by the selection committee based on a variety of criteria including project schedule, cost, and public opinion, whether the winning design is finally implemented depends on getting approval for contract negotiations from the City Council.