The Round Building’s brise-soleil was carefully preserved.

Posted on by Thor

On September 18th, I went down to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts construction site to watch as the Round Buildings brise-soleil was removed. The round building was designed in 1963 by Orlando architects Bob Murphy and Frank Sheehy. The design was an exciting futuristic change from the usual cement and stucco monoliths that litter downtown. It sort of reminds me of Disney’s Carousel of Progress which first appeared at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

The precast cement brise-soleil was designed to help shade the windows from the harsh Florida sun. The upper floors were added at a much later date. Commissioner Patty Sheehan was instrumental in the effort to have the unique brise-soleil preserved.  Each individual vertical section had to be reinforced by a steel structure to be sure it didn’t break apart when being transported. They could then be clipped free of the connecting bolts. I sketched for two hours and only one section was carefully removed in that time. Each section was then loaded onto a truck and transported to a city storage yard. Ironically the round building looked like it belonged next to the modern design of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

As of January 5th while forty plus same-sex couples got married at City Hall across the street, the round building looked like it had been hit by multiple bunker busting bombs. The cement shell had been removed and the rest of the building was collapsing in on itself. Someone stopped to admire my sketch in progress. He was the son of Jack Jennings, the local contractor who first built the Round Building. He asked to take a photo of my sketch to remember his fathers legacy. Niles M. Schweitzer Fellows held a design competition to find creative ways to reuse the preserved brise-soleil. There were some incredibly creative designs, but there are no funds to make any of them a reality. It is harder to create than to destroy. Who knows how long these cement sentinels will remain hidden in the city’s storage facility. I remains to be seen what the Next Round for these panels will be.

The Next Round

Posted on by Thor

On October 9, 2013 I went to the Orlando City Hall Rotunda, (400 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL) to attend a fundraiser that aimed to help build awareness and raise the funds necessary to preserve Orlando’s architectural history. There was a raffle, silent auction, refreshments and live entertainment.

Commissioner Patty Sheehan has been instrumental in the mission of the title sponsor of Next Round, Nils M. Schweizer Fellows – Central Florida Modern, to promote awareness and seek the preservation of Florida’s mid-century modern architecture. They are a non-profit corporation composed of design enthusiasts who have united to advance this cause.

With the Construction of the New Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center across the street from city hall, the unique round American Federal Building faces demolition. Although the building can’t be saved, they hope to preserve a unique honey comb shaped cement structure known as the Brise Soleil. They are helping to raise private funds to save the Brise Soleil and use it in other locations, thus saving a part of Downtown Orlando History.

A total of $300,000 needs to be raised to remove and preserve all the panels. The city of Orlando has agreed to match any funds donated up to $70,000. How and where they use the Brise Soleil has yet to be determined. There have been dozens of submissions from architects throughout the world offering creative ideas on how to use the panels. The Brise Soleil may be used in sections in different ways in different locations throughout the City or in one defined locale. For
instance, some or all of it could be use as a sculpture or set into the
ground as a decorative path or even as a sun screen (its originally
intended purpose).While the details are brought into focus, the fund-raising efforts must persist in order to save this piece of history, so it is not lost forever once The Round Building is demolished. Evan Miga prepared a short film that outlines the plans for the Brise Soleil.

Sarah Segal was at the fundraiser. It turns out that her father Bob Murphy had designed the Round Building which was built in 1963. Sarah that morning had been looking through letters and documents of her fathers. The round building had been a milestone for him, a turning point in his carrier and a labor of love. As she explained, “My
mother was born in Narcoossee and met my father during WWII when many
servicemen came thru Orlando. After marrying they stayed in Orlando, because Dad saw Orlando as a city of the future with room for
modern architecture. This project was a joy for my father, from concept
to completion and beyond. He regularly visited and enjoyed knowing the
people who worked in the round building.” 

The River Bottom Nightmare Band performed at the base of the stairwell in the rotunda. They performed Cajun music, even using a spoon and washboard at one point. There were seats set up but I was the only person sitting and facing the band. Everyone preferred to stand and mingle.