Project Open To The Public

By PAUL CATALA Tribune correspondent

Published: May 10, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - It was a day to relax and admire the culmination of nine months of advancing their education while giving back to a community.

On Sunday, 12 students from the University of South Florida School of Architecture and Community Design got together for a literal open house, holding an informal picnic at the new open-air pavilion and amphitheater at the Temple Terrace Riverfront Preserve. The site is on the east side of the Hillsborough River, north of Temple Terrace Highway.

USF teamed with the Temple Terrace Leisure Services Department to help design and build the pavilion and amphitheater for classes, gatherings and meetings. It was funded with a $5,000 grant from the USF Collaborative for Children, Families and Community, contributions from local businesses and $20,000 from the city for materials and supplies.

Eating a picnic lunch and chatting about the process, the USF students - all working toward a master's degree in architecture - said the experience of building what they designed couldn't be duplicated in the classroom. They also said that seeing a project go from paper to the real world while adding to a community's amenities was fulfilling.

"It was quite a long process of learning what to do to build it and how to fabricate stuff we needed to build with on our own," said student Sarah Deardorff. "It was definitely physically challenging, and some days it was really hot out here."

The pavilion was built under the supervision of Stan Russell, director of the USF Design/Build Program. He said the pavilion and amphitheater would help anchor what is expected to become a park, which will include a replica of the city's original 1920s bat tower, which burned down in 1979.

The pavilion has a seamed metal roof that reaches 12 feet at its peak and sits on a 30-foot-long-by-25-foot-wide concrete foundation. The roof beams were made from laminated two-by-fours, reinforced with wooden screws.

Students also built steel supports for the beams and five metal cones to anchor the bamboo struts, which stretch to the beams for reinforcement.

Russell said one of the biggest challenges was that although most of the students were skilled at getting ideas on paper, they had not been in the field to build something.

"They all adapted very quickly and dedicated a lot of time and energy into the project," he said. "Most importantly, the students got the chance to design something and take it to a final, built project."

In addition to the work on the pavilion, the students poured concrete for the adjoining 20-foot-wide amphitheater, big enough to seat 30 people.

City officials estimate that Temple Terrace couldn't have the built pavilion and amphitheater for less than $75,000.