Advice from an award-winning firm, 'Think Like a Raindrop'

Architecture wowed Jonathan Parks at an early age. So much so he took college art classes — for fun — in the sixth grade.

Parks parlayed his interest into a thriving architecture career, work that ultimately led him to Sarasota. That’s where he founded Jonathan Parks Architect, a business that has survived a tumultuous time in the industry, when many large firms have scaled back, and many small firms have shut down.

Parks’ firm, however, while not growing like it did in the boom, is still going. Parks says he hasn’t had to lay off any of his 12 employees during the downturn.

Moreover, JPA also recently won two coveted industry awards. It won the “Best New Low-Rise Development” award from Multi-Housing News for Citrus Square, a mixed-use project just north of Main Street in downtown Sarasota. And Engineering News Record Southeast recognized the firm in its Best Projects of 2011 Awards, for its work on the city of Sarasota’s Palm Avenue parking garage.

Parks and JPA Associate Chris Gallagher recently discussed the evolution of both projects with the Business Review. A key point, says Parks, is transferable to just about any business: Be open to creativity out of any employee, anytime. Says Parks: “You never know where a great idea will come from.”

Palm Avenue Parking Garage
Location: Palm Avenue, downtown Sarasota, a block north of Main Street
Built: 2010; garage opened in February
Recognition: Award of Merit, Transportation, from Engineering News Record Southeast,
Project details: The 280,000-square-foot garage was a controversial project. Some city leaders and residents complained about using prime downtown real estate for a garage. Former Sarasota Mayor Kelly Kirschner, who supported the $12 million project, also came under criticism when he said the city should build a “world-class” parking garage.

The final result is a six-story garage with 740 parking spots. It’s built in a curvy, free-form sculptural style. The contours of the exterior resemble sails. A row of retail-store space is on the ground floor, and the top deck overlooks Sarasota Bay and downtown.

Creative process: The firm had never built a parking garage before this project. So the first step, says JPA associate Chris Gallagher, was to study garages from every angle. “A lot of our concentration in the office was about retracing the steps of the user,” says Gallagher. “We wanted to see what it would be like every step of the way.”

So Gallagher, Parks and other JPA employees walked up and down the floors of the existing parking garages in Sarasota. They looked for safety, ease of parking and comfort. “The sense of cleanliness was a big thing,” adds Parks.

Another element in the design process was to consider the garage a place where people go, not only cars. “What’s the human story behind it?” says Gallagher. “How can we make life more enjoyable and inspiring?”

The completed project was a product of those early visits to other garages. For one, the garage has wide spaces between floors to utilize natural light. The circular stairwells are also a source of pride for the architects, in that it combines fun with functional, says Parks.

Citrus Square
Location: North Orange Avenue, Sarasota, a half-mile north of Main Street
Built: 2009-2010; completed January 2010.
Recognition: Best New Development/Low Rise from Multi-Housing News
Project details: The most unique aspect of the 35,000-square-foot, three-story mixed-use project could be the timing: It was unveiled in 2008, and it was built in 2009 and 2010, during a period where nearly no other mixed-use projects on the Gulf Coast were conceived.

The focus of the $8.5 million project was an old European-style building with street facades and authentic details. French doors with balconies, cast stone moldings and retail shops with wooden storefronts are some of the highlights. “Citrus Square reproduces what’s happening in the city,” the judges wrote. “It doesn’t look like it just showed up…the downtown retail development works with the fabric of the city and addresses the scale of the project.”

At least 80% of the building’s condos have been sold, and the stores on the ground floor include a café and a wine bar. “It’s an incredibly modern building except for the fact that it’s so delightful,” says Parks. “It just speaks to people.”

Creative process: Parks and Gallagher searched several Florida cities for an example of this type of project they could study. But they couldn’t find one that combined modern and historic the way they envisioned, says Gallagher.

So they forged ahead with the project. A breakthrough came from Gallagher, when, at a staff meeting to discuss the project, he said the firm needed “to think like a raindrop.”

By that, Gallagher meant the “narrative” of the design process should be a building that protects against leaks, drops and other rain-based calamities. For instance, that’s why the doors are set so far back from the walls, Gallagher says.

The raindrop soon became a rallying cry for the rest of the project. It was a part of nearly every angle of the design. “People come to us for things that aren’t common,” says Parks. “People come to us for things that aren’t what everyone else has.”