04/27/2026
At the footsteps of Florida’s State Capitol, Waller Park is a powerful example of how design can reshape public space to strengthen the connection between community, culture, and civic life. Originally constructed in the 1970s, the plaza is a multi-tiered roof deck above a subterranean parking structure that had long experienced waterproofing failures, aging infrastructure, and limited accessibility between street level and the Capitol entrance above.
The redesign responds to significant changes in elevation through the addition of north and south elevator cores with elevated walkways, reconnecting the plaza’s layered levels. These vertical elements echo the modernist legacy of the Capitol Complex, originally designed by Edward D. Stone, through vertically striated terracotta baguettes and integrated lighting that establish the cores as civic beacons within the landscape.
Across the plaza, paving patterns and symmetrical planting reinforce a sense of order and procession, creating a clear threshold into the public realm while guiding movement through the space.
This ambitious project gives new life to Waller Park, serving citizens and visitors as an inviting, accessible, and welcoming civic landscape at the heart of Florida’s Capitol Complex. The project frames the Capitol and establishes a defined enclosure for gathering, movement, and pause within the public realm.
Project Team:
Contractor: Childers Construction Company
MEP Engineer: H2Engineering, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Barkley Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Civil Engineer: George & Associates Consulting Engineers
Landscape Architect: Kimley-Horn
Photographer: Ryan Gamma Photography
