A Brief History:
Prior to 1988, the North Carolina National Bank selected Tampa’s downtown waterfront edge as home for their corporate headquarters. Located south from the Tampa Museum of Art, NCNB Plaza was designed by award winning architect Harry Wolf and National Medal of Arts recipient Landscape Designer, Dan Kiley. Both designers collaborated and unveiled a total work of design of three part
s; Tampa’s only cylindrical tower, two glass cube buildings and a garden all based on the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers in which each number equals the sum of the two preceding numbers (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21 or 1+1=2, 2+5= 5, 5+8=13 and so on). The Fibonacci sequence was used to determine window sizes, arrangements, proportions and patterns on all three parts of the NCNB Plaza. In 1988, NCNB Plaza, now referred as Kiley Gardens, looked very different than today. At the entrance of the park, an exposed north and south running translucent floating canal once carried water overhead. This canal showered visitors below with shimmering sunlight. The water also flowed along limestone runnels to a series of reflecting pools throughout Kiley Gardens. Part of the translucent canal still exists between the cube buildings and cylindrical building. During operation, Kiley Garden served as a host for weddings, festivals, student functions and art tours by the Tampa Museum of Art. Kiley Garden became an inspirational, urban design 'gem' along Tampa's Riverwalk. International publications about Kiley Garden drawn many tourists and scholars to visit Tampa. Current:
Before recent renovations, Kiley Garden featured crape myrtles which were removed. These trees, as part of design, provided scale and shading for patrons. At times, trees cooled Kiley Gardens up to 10 degrees F less than unshaded areas! In addition, jasmine used throughout, provided a rich array of landscape color, and floral scent. Other items recently renovated includes the outdoor amphitheater, paving units, runnels, structure, electrical & irrigation. Goals:
It is important that Kiley Garden is FULLY restored, with landscaping and water features as before. Due the recent restorations, through the specific guidelines of historic preservation, this is now possible. Further, Kiley Garden should be placed under local landmark designation. This will ensure Kiley Garden's future for years to come.
******************Quick facts**********************
Key Facts about Kiley Gardens and the late Dan Kiley
• Kiley Gardens qualifies for state and federal historic landmark designations.
• As a historic landmark, Kiley Garden would be eligible to receive funding from private and public sectors, easing the financial hardship.
• In 1988, Kiley Gardens was given to the City of Tampa to be maintained and used as a public space.
• Kiley Gardens is Tampa’s first green roof/screened parking since 1988! Typical downtown parking consumes space, not allowing green or recreational space to occur. Kiley Gardens is a garden roof on top of a parking garage thus returning space to the public realm.
• Kiley Gardens may reduce the Heat Island Effect. The Heat Island Effect increases summer temperatures in urban areas that lack green space because concrete absorbs then releases stored heat. Kiley Gardens may meet national urban green building standards which other cities are now adopting to make an environmental difference.
• “Dan Kiley (b. 1912) is the only living landscape architect to have a landscape design bestowed with National Historic Landmark status. In fact, there are over 1,000 modern works of architecture listed on the National Register of Historic Places -- yet only one registered work of landscape architecture. Kiley’s work for the Miller family in Columbus, Indiana, (designed during the same period as Potomac Place) is a rare, surviving, pristine example of his design intent and sets a precedent for the registration of other such works.”
-This article was prepared by Peter Lindsay Schaudt, FAAR, ASLA, a landscape architect with a private practice in Chicago, IL (http://www.tclf.org/kiley_tampa.htm)
(further information to be updated, ver. 3/11)
