As a capacity crowd gathered in the Grand Foyer of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall to witness the reveal of a conceptual plan for the Sarasota Performing Arts Center, an approaching storm marched across Sarasota Bay.
By the time the architecture firms selected to design the proposed facility had completed their presentation, the rain had cleared, the sky turned blue and sunlight filled the room.
It was a fitting metaphor for the Sept. 18 community workshop organized by the architects of Renzo Piano Building Workshop of Genoa, Italy and Sarasota’s Sweet Sparkman Architecture and Interiors as they introduced the initial concept to the public. Some of the few who had previewed the design were initially reticent over how it would be received were basking in the glow of a generally receptive audience some 90 minutes later…