Brass Bowl

Doesn’t sound familiar? How about the Beercan Building? One of Tampa’s most famous landmarks (at least to locals), this 31 story skyscraper was designed by Harry Wolf. His goal was to design a building that gave a sense of place. He wanted an organic building that connected to it’s locale, and to do so he used materials and colors that are from Florida. The polished limestone that covers the complex (it has two glass cubes at the base) are local (Florida, as opposed to Illinois), and the finished plan had reflecting pools on the north side. It was a grand plan, but somehow, like many things, it has been relegated to a lesser role, through no fault of it’s own, or it’s designer.

There is always hope that we can learn to appreciate the building. I’ve been inside a few times, and I am impressed with the layout. This building does not have a large footprint, but the inside gives a feeling of openness and much more area than is really there.