The University of South Florida Polytechnic has commissioned acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava and his firm Santiago Calatrava /Festina Lente Services, Inc. to design the first building for the school’s new campus in Lakeland, FL, the university announced recently.
Editor's Note: This article is excerpted from In The Pipeline, a weekly column covering new development and construction. To receive the column every week by e-mail, join our distribution list.
The Spanish architect, who designed the transportation hub planned for the former World Trade Center site, will design the 100,000-square-foot USFP Science & Technology building, at the northernmost corner of the campus at the intersection of Interstate 4 and the Polk Parkway. The building will be the cornerstone of the new campus and will establish the design scheme for all buildings in the first phase of the campus master plan.
Groundbreaking on the $45 million project is expected late this year, with a scheduled opening in late summer 2012.
Calatrava is best known for his celebrated designs of bridges, transportation centers and cultural institutes throughout the world. The USF Polytechnic facility will be his first design in the southeastern U.S.
Almost 70 years ago, legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel in Lakeland, the first of 12 structures he designed for Florida Southern College and a recent addition to the World Monuments Watch List.