Orlando Buildings: Architecture News
post updated June 27, 2026
Orlando Buildings News 2026 – new architectural photos around Downtown:
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801
Architect: Barton Myers
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in Downtown Orlando, Florida, United States. It joined the Bob Carr Theater, which originally opened as the Orlando Municipal Auditorium in 1927, to become Orlando’s main performance venue. The center’s grand opening was held on November 6, 2014. The construction cost was $613 million.
Occupying two city blocks, the performing arts centre establishes a significant cultural presence within the urban fabric. The design for the new venue was unveiled in 2008, setting out an ambitious vision for a contemporary multi-venue destination capable of supporting a diverse programme of performances and events.
At its core is a 2,700-seat amplified auditorium designed to accommodate Broadway productions and concerts spanning multiple genres. Complementing this principal venue is a more intimate 300-seat theatre dedicated to smaller-scale performances, community events and experimental programming.
The centre’s third venue is a highly adaptable 1,700-seat multiform theatre, engineered to transform between a variety of configurations to support opera, symphonic performances, theatre and amplified events, reflecting the project’s commitment to flexibility and acoustic excellence.
Kress Building, 130 S Orange Ave, FL 32801
The Kress Building stands as one of Orlando’s most distinguished examples of Art Deco commercial architecture, distinguished by its rare masonry façade combining steel-reinforced concrete construction with finely detailed granite veneers. Completed in 1936, the building opened as a flagship department store conceived to offer customers a sense of luxury and sophistication despite the economic hardships of the Great Depression. Today, it is recognised as an official Orlando Historic Landmark, reflecting both its architectural significance and enduring presence within the city’s urban fabric.
More broadly, the term “Kress Building” refers to the network of historic commercial buildings constructed throughout the United States for the S.H. Kress department store chain, one of America’s most influential five-and-dime retailers of the early twentieth century. Renowned for their distinctive Art Deco and Moderne architectural expression, these buildings were designed by a dedicated team of in-house architects who viewed storefront design as a form of public art. With hundreds of locations established on Main Streets across the country, many cities retain their own Kress Building as an important civic and architectural landmark.
First United Methodist Church of Orlando, 142 E Jackson St, FL 32801
photos © Adrian Welch
First United Methodist Church of Orlando is a church located in Downtown Orlando. Founded in 1882, First United Methodist Church has been a presence in Central Florida for over 125 years.
After a sale of property to the City of Orlando and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, First United Methodist Church of Orlando undertook a multimillion-dollar building project that revitalized its campus and changed the look of downtown. The new ministry building for First United Methodist Church of Orlando opened in September 2011 and is next door to this historic property pictured here.
Orlando Lutheran Towers, 300 E Church St, FL 32801
The architectural evolution of Orlando Lutheran Towers reflects more than four decades of development and reinvestment within downtown Orlando’s urban core. The original 18-storey independent living tower, located on East Church Street, opened in 1980 and established a prominent residential presence within the city skyline.
Subsequent expansions and renovations have involved a number of architectural practices, each contributing to the continued growth of the campus. New additions, including an assisted living facility and an on-site parking structure, were designed to strengthen the range of residential and support services while reinforcing the campus identity. More recent renovation works focused on revitalising the principal arrival sequence, lobby spaces and exterior façades, modernising the resident experience while preserving the established character of the development.
Together, these interventions represent an ongoing commitment to adapting the campus to contemporary standards of senior living while ensuring its continued relevance within the changing fabric of downtown Orlando.
Orlando City Hall containing the City of Orlando Mayor’s Office, 400 S Orange Ave, FL 32801, viewed across the plaza from the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Design: Heller Manus Architects
Orlando’s current City Hall, home to the Mayor’s office and the city’s administrative functions, was designed by Heller Manus Architects as the design architect, with HKS serving as architect of record.
Completed in 1992, the property established a new civic presence for the city centre, combining postmodern architectural expression with symbolic civic monumentality. Rising nine storeys, the building is distinguished by its prominent 120-foot copper dome and the dramatic central rotunda known as the Great Room, elements that reinforce its role as the administrative and ceremonial heart of the city.
The project replaced Orlando’s previous City Hall, a modernist building completed in 1958, which was demolished in a highly publicised implosion in 1991. The event entered popular culture through its inclusion in the film Lethal Weapon 3, marking the transition between two distinct eras of civic architecture in Orlando’s urban development.
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Orlando Building Design News 2022
Nov 14, 2022
International Airport Terminal C, Orlando
Design: Gentilhomme Studio
image : Maxime Rouxe
For the digital art installations at Terminal C, which opened in fall 2022, Montreal-based creative studio Gentilhomme went to great lengths to create hours of original content, using advanced CGI, machine learning, live action, and immersive underwater filmmaking, along with 3D motion tracking technology that renders imagery in real time on massive screens.
June 7, 2022
New Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity Orlando, 851 N Maitland Avenue, Maitland, FL 32751
Design: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners
image courtesy of architects practice
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida (HMREC) unveiled Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners’ architectural renderings for the new Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity in downtown Orlando. It will be the world’s first Holocaust museum designed around survivor and witness testimonies.
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Orlando Architecture News
Orlando Building News 2021
Nov 5, 2021
Isleworth, Lake Butler Estate near Orlando
photo : Uneek Luxury Tours
Shaquille O’Neal could easily afford to wait out the sale of his Isleworth, Lake Butler estate near Orlando, which he purchased in 1993 for $3.95 million. The Florida property didn’t sell for its original asking price of $28 million, nor did it sell for its later price reduction to $16.5 million.
More Orlando Buildings News on e-architect soon.
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Orlando Buildings News 2006 – 2020
Aug 31, 2020
The Ranch in Orlando
Architects: VSHD Design
photograph : Koen Van Damme
VSHD Design, a Dubai-based interior architecture firm specializing in residential and commercial projects, is proud to unveil a luxurious residential design within the Four Seasons Orlando Resort in Florida. With 22,000 sq. ft. this project marks the first residential undertaking of the firm in the United States.
Aug 18, 2020
Orlando Sports & Entertainment District Digital Twin project
Design: Baker Barrios Architects Inc
image supplied by Baker Barrios Architects Inc
The OS+ED is planned opposite the Amway Center in downtown Orlando, where the Orlando Magic play basketball, and will include a 300-room hotel, 420,000 square feet of offices, 80,000 square feet of event space, more than 100,000 square feet of retail, and an open-air plaza.
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Aug 22, 2018
Francis Park Townhomes in Orlando
Design: Interstruct, Inc.
image courtesy of architects practice
Led by architect and co-founder Ryan Young, design-build firm Interstruct, Inc., is investing in the design-tuned growth of Orlando’s Hourglass District. Francis Park Townhomes moves the needle in the neighborhood by bringing something different: progressive townhomes that evoke emotions.
May 30, 2018
1600 Lakeside Residence in Audubon Park, Orlando
Design: Interstruct, Inc.
photograph : Steven Allen
Orlando-based architect and co-founder of design-build firm Interstruct, Inc., Ryan Young transformed a former parking lot in one of the city’s creative, emerging neighborhoods into a warm, modern home for his growing family. The project’s hallmark is its use of industrial-grade materials showcased for their inherent beauty.
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Apr 10, 2017
Orlando International Airport Building South Terminal Complex, Florida
Design: Fentress Architects
image from architecture office
The major building elements are aligned as a campus connected by The Boulevard, a passenger walkway at the center of the terminal. It will lead passengers while being surrounded by gardens, fountains, art, a beautiful architectural skylight, interactive media features, and innovative retail and concessions.
Oct 10, 2016
Guidewell Innovation Orlando Building, Lake Nona Medical City
Design: Affiniti Architects & Marc Thee
image from architects practice
In Lake Nona Medical City – a global destination for health care innovation in Orlando, Florida – a new era is unfolding with the GuideWell Innovation Center.
Citrus Bowl Stadium –
Design: HOK Sport
image : HOK Sport
This is the largest public building project in Central Florida history, paving the way for the construction of a new state-of-the-art Events Center where the Orlando Magic will play, a new Performing Arts Center, and a renovation of the Citrus Bowl Stadium.
Performing Arts Center, Orlando
Date: 2008-
Design: HKS
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
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Miami Marine Stadium Building Renovation
photo : Rick Bravo
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