Earning the distinction of the second Best New Attraction of 2020 in USA Today’s Readers’ Choice awards, a new 3,065-ft.-long pier on 26 acres in St. Petersburg, Fla., features educational facilities, restaurants, a pavilion and picnic area, boat docks, tram stops, an event center, swimming beach, a splash pad, art sculptures and children’s playgrounds.
Bringing Rogers Partners and ASD|SKY’s design to life, design, engineering and metal plate fabricator MG McGrath installed CENTRIA Econolap aluminum perforated panels on the roof of the pier head, pavilion and education center areas of St. Pete pier. Ideal for the saltwater environment, the lightweight system was also well suited to support the design’s large expansive cantilevers. The pier head also features an aluminum triangle tube framed soffit that forms a large undulated surface extending to the floor above it. The metal roof panels double as a canopy for a rooftop bar, providing shade and protection while not compromising daylight.
The education center and pavilion were designed with an eyebrow shade with steel triangular framing and filled in by the CENTRIA corrugated roofing and perforated aluminum soffit panels. In addition, the pavilion incorporates aluminum light trays and decorative cable netting in the window opening above the wall.
