Good Will Reconsidered is a collaboration of the University of Florida’s CityLab-Sarasota, Newtown Alive, Goodwill Industries Sarasota/Manatee and the Center for Architecture Sarasota. UF student teams from the School of Architecture and Rinker School of Construction Management will develop speculative proposals for a new cultural arts center in the heart of the Newtown neighborhood on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Sarasota.
Students will study the history and cultural identity of Newtown seeking to translate community heritage into a place for experimentation in art, music, dance, cinema and other forms of human interpretation and expression. The proposed cultural arts center will be a venue to strengthen community identity, nurture local talent and provide a launching pad that can extend beyond the neighborhood through events, exhibits and workshops. In addition to featuring local talent, the arts center could attract regional and national artists, musicians and others.
Site studies and meetings with community stakeholders, the Community Redevelopment Agency and representatives from Goodwill Industries will follow in the coming months as students seek to find the best mix of activities and associated architectural spaces to support the arts programs that emerge from this study. Students will develop design proposals for the arts center that evaluate a range of possibilities and test multiple design strategies for the site. The findings will be published in the fall of 2018.
The project was featured in The Independent Florida Alligator. To read the article, click here.
Those interested in participating with or supporting this effort should contact Martin Gold, Program Director, CityLab-Sarasota.
Contact: Martin Gold, Program Director
CityLab-Sarasota
e: mgold@ufl.edu
p: 352.274.1474
CityLab-Sarasota Mission
CityLab-Sarasota is a University of Florida community education and outreach program. The facility links UF to Sarasota to explore these cultural challenges through the dissemination of current research and strategic design initiatives and to support local communities and governments in the advancement of sustainable architecture and urbanism.