The Crown

Located on the southeast corner of South Monroe Street (Entrance) and College Avenue (Parking), The Exchange Bank Building was constructed in late 1927 in a Neo-Egyptian and Greek design and designed by William Augustus Edwards and formally opened on March 3, 1928. Consisting of a basement and five floors including a 19-foot first floor (5.8m), that gives it the appearance of a sixstory building, it was the tallest building in Tallahassee when it opened. The building was known for many years as the Midyette-Moor Building, for the insurance company that owned and occupied the building from 1935-1973. It was at the forefront of the business community with such prominent tenants as LeRoy Collins (Governor of Florida 1955-1961) and B.K. Roberts (Florida Supreme Court Justice 1849- 1976). The Building is the only structure in the Original Plan of the City of Tallahassee on the Register to retain its architectural integrity and continued use for its original commercial purpose. The first modern private office building in Tallahassee. One of the few downtown buildings to have maintained its architectural integrity. Private. N.R. 1984. In 1953, Additions and Alterations of the Offices of Midyette- Moor Insurance Agency were made by James A. Stripling A.I.A Architects and in 1985, the Building was rehabilitated by Wilton Miller and Robert Olive. Eclectic. Edwards and Sayward, architects with 6 stories buff brick, limestone trim, terra-cotta wall ornamentation in a Neo- Egyptian and Greek design.

The Crown is an architectural project on the roof of one of the oldest buildings in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida in the United States. It aims to crown the lower part and give it a new look that sublimates its environment by creating a projection space, a completely different experience from ordinary cinema that could become the space of emotions for young producers or directors who want to share their work with a universal audience.

The Exchange Bank Building is an old building with old materials and constitutes a heritage for this city of Tallahassee. The project’s intentions navigate a romance with the building’s antiquity, adding charisma to the space as a royal art. It embraces the emotions, the experience and the way the light dances on the roof. The architecture is everything that comes together. Downtown Tallahassee is surrounded by building structures that forge the intensity and pressure of a work environment. An important thing in life is travel, which allows people to get away and add experiences to their memory. It allows people to get some distance and a rooftop intervention is a similar opportunity. The Crown is located 22 meters above the ground and has a large staircase used as a step that allows an additional 5 meters of height. And the step is an open space called “relaxation zone” that can be freely used by the public.

The envelope of the project is a pattern designed and strategically layered to deal with Tallahassee’s sun exposure. Composed of thin copper plates, it enhances the visual effect of the roof and completely changes the atmosphere at the corner of South Monroe Street and College Avenue. The Crown is a masterpiece and a qualitative intervention that illuminates the sky from day to night.

The Crown project is a projection room designed for the general public. A comfortable lift extended to accommodate all kinds of people in one place. The projection room can be used as a cinema for short films or other cinematographic screenings. In order to extend the uses of the space, the tier can be transformed into a “chill area”, a place where students can meet or organise meetings.