Basis of Design Book 2 - City of St. Petersburg

Underwater Feature Technical Workshop 1
Underwater Feature Roundtable Workshop, July 26 th , 2012
Prepared by TLS, Janicki Environmental, Inc.
Meeting Summary
Attendees: See participants list at the end of this summary.
The meeting began with introductions, followed by a brief statement of the objective of the meeting which
was to continue the dialogue between the scientific community and the architectural team (Team) on
concepts and approaches to designing a successful underwater feature within the center of the Lens. Lisa
Wannemacher of Wannemacher Jensen Architects gave a presentation of the Lens concept including updates
to the design resulting from public input.
Following the presentation, Dr. Al Hine expressed his displeasure with the process that the project has taken to
date and the lack of consultation with the marine science community in the planning process. Representatives
from the City of St. Petersburg acknowledged that, in hindsight, things could have been done differently but
that in order to have a constructive meeting, it was important to try and move forward from where we were at
the time. Dr. Hine agreed.
Tom Leader of Tom Leader Studio then presented the goal of the underwater feature: To design an attractive
underwater feature that can highlight the estuary and engage the public. A conceptual model was presented
that illustrated the objectives of the design which allow the public to observe, interact and become more
aware of the estuarine environment.
The meeting then took an open forum setting with free exchange between the meeting participants and the
Team. The topics covered are listed in bold below. The participants comments are categorized and relayed in
this summary as bullet point below.
Larry Langebrake of SRI, took on a facilitation role between 11:00 and noon which focused the participants on
identifying the needs for the underwater feature. By identifying how the underwater feature can contribute to
the community, the best approaches will be derived to fulfill those needs. Five principal needs were identified.
The business community, the educational community, the residents of St. Petersburg, the tourist community
and the environment. A summary of that discussion is provided as categorized bullet points below.
A brief wrap up was conducted by Tom Leader after lunch. The goal slide was shown on the monitor and Lisa
Wannemacher asked the participants if they felt it was worth further efforts to pursue a design of the
underwater feature given the previous discussion. There was unanimity among the group that efforts should
proceed to identify potential designs to address the needs identified during the facilitated discussion. The
group agreed that future meetings are necessary to assess the feasibility of a final design product for the
underwater feature.
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