NEW PAVILION CENTER REFLECTS MARRIAGE OF ART AND BUSINESS
Published: February 17, 1991
Section: DAILY BREAK, page G1
Source: Aimee Cunningham, Staff writer
© 1991- Landmark Communications Inc.
FROM ITS ground-floor gallery to a fanciful rooftop railing, the new Pavilion Center in Virginia Beach will go beyond function to meld art with architecture when it opens this week. The angular eight-story glass office building stands in contrast to its wooded lot at the end of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway. Only blocks from the beach, it has been dubbed a gateway to the Oceanfront.
``I didn't want another sterile-looking, curtain-walled building,'' said developer Andrew S. Fine, president of The Runnymede Corp. ``It was not driven by any business motivation. It was much more of a personal statement.'' Designing for art's sake, a rarity among commercial buildings in Hampton Roads, was welcomed by architect E. Bradford Tazewell of Williams Tazewell and Cooke & Associates in Norfolk. ``Developers and the arts are usually poles apart,'' Tazewell said. ``It must start with the attitude of the owner. Andrew wanted an attractive building that would accommodate his interests.'' Fine, a past president of the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, is an avid collector and longtime supporter of the arts. Plans for the 3.3-acre site have been gestating for five years, even before construction of the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, on Parks Avenue across the west-bound toll road. Rather than imposing itself on its neighbors, Pavilion Center is reflective. Its two-toned blue exterior mirrors clouds, trees, the new Virginia Beach Tourist Information Center and the Quonset hutlike Pavilion convention center. ``In combination with these buildings, and with the arts center,'' Fine said, ``it makes this area a little venue where art is happening.'' Details bring the six-sided structure alive. White Georgia marble anchors the ground floor and frames the entrance in a stepped pattern. More trim angles its way up the sides. A three-story atrium lobby holds a niche for rotating art exhibitions, curated by the Center for the Arts. Other nooks for sculpture and paintings will capture visitors' attention on every floor. But it's not only what's inside Pavilion Center that makes it memorable; it's what's on top. Virginia Beach sculptor Larry Mednick had the crowning touch. He created an 1,100-foot cobalt-blue steel railing with cutouts of dancing figures, waves and trees for the rooftop garden. ``I tried to get a feeling of lightness and freedom because that's the feeling up here,'' said Mednick, whose shadow stretched in abstract like the railing across the patio one bright winter morning. ``They'll bring clients up here and show them what they're going to see on the beach.'' The view from the roof is surprisingly green. Toward the Oceanfront, it looks over a carpet of trees, punctuated by rooftops and resort skyline. And on a clear day, you can make out downtown Norfolk. With 97,518 square feet, it is the largest office building at the Oceanfront and cost just under $10 million. It occupies a full block between 20th and 21st streets on Parks Avenue. Tenants include the Virginia Beach Federal Savings Bank, Runnymede and the law firm of Fine, Fine, Legum & Fine. ``I have enjoyed the art, and our customers comment on it,'' said Jackie Newman, senior vice president of the bank, which occupies 3 1/2 floors and whose logo is prominent on the building exterior. ``It helps gives us some visibility we didn't have before. Our other building at the beach was so old it didn't provide the beauty that this one does.'' An abstract mural by Ruth Laakso hangs in the bank, as do paintings by Robert Vick. When it came to buying major art work for Pavilion Center, Fine sought local talent. His son, sculptor Matthew D. Fine, has been commissioned to create a marble fountain at building's entrance. In a sort of bridging-of-the-buildings gap, another of Fine's fountains recently was installed at the Pavilion. The opening exhibition features four artists: Mednick and Matthew Fine, sculpture; Center for the Arts curator Lantz Caldwell, color laser prints; and Mike Bell, mixed media. Bell helped a crew hang a 40-foot dragon, wildly colorful and puppetlike, in the lobby last week. Another artist, landscape architect Edward G. Carson of McKee/Carson in Norfolk, is turning the site into a lush park with meandering paths and benches. In the process, the developer saved a 350-year-old willow oak tree from a parking-lot fate. ``I wanted to make it a warm building, a welcoming space,'' Fine said. ``I don't think anyone who walks through our building will remain neutral about the experience.''
Description of illustration(s):
Staff color photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
Sculptor Larry Mednick fashioned this steel railing for the center's
rooftop garden.
Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
The new eight-story Pavilion Center in Virginia Beach opens this
week.
|
