The “Sense of Place” initiative instituted by The Broward County Commission is designed to create significant public spaces around important government buildings. The Commission also mandated that there should be some important vertical architecture to demark these important public gathering places and to be visible from a distance away. Pierce Architectural Group was chosen to design the first of these plazas. The plaza pictured here is located at the West Regional Government Center between the Courthouse and the West Regional Library overlooking a lake. Our design features air sculptures rising from the lake and a grid of trees that provide shade over parts of the plaza that will enable visitors to navigate from the Courthouse to the Library in complete shade. In addition, there is a restaurant with outdoor seating and shaded eating area that will allow visitors to have lunch while in the plaza area. The design also features several circular areas of contoured Astroturf that rise in elevation about to 30 inches in height that create a safe, inviting area for children to play on. At the center of the plaza is a contemplative artwork executed by artists from California. The plaza is lit for evening use and is designed to be utilized 365 day each year by library and also courthouse patrons and is designed not only for passive uses, but for active uses such as book fairs and gatherings, etc.
This plaza creates a connection between the existing City of Plantation courthouse and the new West Regional Library which shares the site and a common lake with the courthouse. Though the use of a grid that is being punctured with different geometric shapes. The plaza is enriched with a myriad of spaces that the patrons will experience in different ways as they traverse through the plaza. Moving wind sculptures mimic a flock of birds ascending from the lake to the sky.
Sense of Place Plaza