Architects and planners hope to add an interesting block of buildings to "boring" Orlando.
Four "ultra-modern" buildings proposed for downtown Orlando received preliminary approval from the city's Development Review Committee. "The $250 million project was designed by Arquitectonica, a Miami firm known for its cutting-edge designs...All of [the complex] would face an open plaza envisioned as a local version of Manhattan's Bryant Park, which is behind the New York Public Library. A large grassy area flanked by a jumbo television screen on one side and a fountain on the other, the Orlando plaza could host picnickers, fashion shows or outdoor movies, developers said. A similar garden area would top the garage. Open space would make up about 2 acres of the 5.6-acre site."
'We intend for this to be the Rockefeller Center of Orlando,' project manager Mark Rieker said."
Thanks to Renae
FULL STORY: Architects propose a slice of Manhattan in Orlando

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
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Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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