The DNA Corner is made possible by the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA). Downtown St. Pete holds a strong sense of place, marked by its waterfront park system, distinctive architecture, proximity to the city’s commercial and cultural heart and history as the most walkable urban nieghborhood. The DNA harbors a vision of a neighborhood that offers sustainable urban housing, strong commercial shops and businesses exclusive to the area, a functioning Public Transit system  with paths and lanes designated for pedestrians and cyclists all while maintaining a focus on local arts, culture, parks and entertainment to make the ‘Burg a desireable place to live, work and play. 

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Eager ‘Burgers and city council members file into the soft stadium seating of the Sunshine Center Auditorium for the arrival of lauded architect Alberto Alfonso and the unveiling of his anticipated museum design for the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement (MAACM). Small talk and handshakes are exchanged while the preliminary mockups are loaded onto the pull-down display screen.

Cuban-born visionary Alfonso received his M.A. from The University of Florida in 1983 and founded his own firm, Alfonso Architects, Inc., just five years later. Alfonso Architects, Inc. designed the Chihuly and Tampa Arts Museums and has been chosen to design the Museum of The American Arts & Crafts Movement. The clarity of vision Aflonso evoked while presenting the initial renderings of the museum held the attentions of the ignited ‘Burg audience captive. .

“Our goal is not to show off or compete with the [American Arts and Crafts] collection. When you give the piece that dignity it enhances the value of it,” says Alfonso as he scrolls through digitized, 90,000 sq. ft. concept. With over 1,800 items already in the permanent and rotating collections, “there will be much more to admire on the inside.”

At it’s anticipated size the MAACM will be 30% larger than the already standing Dali and cover three quarters of an entire city block. In spite of its mammoth size, Alfonso promises that the “pedestrian scale is quite humane,” and that they’ve “only scratched the dirt” of how this new structure will comply and flow with the city.

*Outline of the planned 333 3rd Avenue N location

Alfonso called up his associate after the unveiling. “The American arts and crafts movement was a reaction and rejection of the industrial revolution,” Tom, his associate, says. “The movement came from American citizens harboring a desire for higher quality, unique products.” There’s an intimacy that exists between the collector and the craftsman. This is a monument to the spit and grit, copper and concrete that composes the American Spirit. Tom ended with cast-iron prose, “if it’s not rare, if it’s not iconic, it won’t be in the museum.”

The designers hope to break ground on the parking structure once owned by Synovus Bank within the next 10-12 weeks with an approximate, completion date of the entire museum sometime within the first quarter of 2017.

via Alfonso Archtiects

Silhouetted by the historic triangle of craftsmen homes in the Old Northeast, Roser Park and Kenwood rests a lingering hologram over gravel. Aflonso sees this project as a “cabinet of curiosities,” a conceit that elevates all of his architecture. An onslaught of questions are thrown at the designers regarding parking restrictions, pedestrian entrances, whether this museum would generate unhealthy traffic patterns and how initial construction would effect residents living in the homes parallel to the site. To summarize Alfonso’s political handling of the speculative inquisitions, “I know enough to be dangerous.” 

One citizen asks, in a deadpan tone behind wire rim glasses and rose petal lipstick “Why Saint Petersburg?” Before either man at the podium can retort, the dozens in attendance beckon together, at a glass shattering pitch, “Why not?” 

*Article by Andrew Harlan, Writer/Editor for iLovetheBurg.com

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