*Lead Design Principal at Jerde Partnerships

‘Pier Park’ is a 60 acre conceptual master plan in Panama City. The concept of the projects started with the understanding of Panama City Beach’s natural assets. The expansive wetlands, sun dazzled sand, bottled-green coastal waters served as an inspiration as well as a resource. Light, contrasting textures, warm colors of the site gave the project its own unique character and established a tangible identity for Pier Park.

With its own colorful vernacular and contemporary forms with a trace of southern accent willed an innovative language of its own. What came out are part familiar comforts, part nostalgic beach culture, part regional architecture, all original – and unmistakably, Florida.

The 1 million square feet development of entertainment retail, restaurant and cinemas, and includes a 450 keys boutique hotel, 150 units of timeshare. Alive with shops and restaurants, the main street allowed people to spill out from shaded awnings on to wide, sunny sidewalks connected to beach front. A crescent-shaped plaza embraces the beach front, creating a welcoming sense of arrival. And lastly, the project’s main focus is letting Pier Park to be more than just convenient shopping. The project focused on being a ‘place’, where people want to live, work, linger, meet and explore.