Pineda Island

Main ring, when opened c. 1960

Project Details

Dates: 1956 - 1960
Location: Mobile, AL
Type: Commercial
First scheme with undulating roofs

Situated along a major thoroughfare that connects the island to each shoreline, Pineda Island was a proposal for a recreation center designed for Mobile, Alabama. Its focal point was a large pool and swim club surrounded by a circular arrangement of recreational areas, and the plan included an international festival market and shopping centerThe entertainment complex featured a bowling alley, dance pavilion, pool, restaurant, bar, racquet club, rod and gun club, and even a teenage club.

Construction was completed in 1960-61, and the facility was opened. It was closed shortly due to financial complications. However, the facility remains extant today, and while practically complete, it is a modern “ruin”, unaltered and unused. Its evocative forms remains in the marsh with its poignant use of curvilinear and columnar shapes foreshadowing the forms of Marina City and the later architecture. Its unique aspects include the ability to see around and through the open structure, and the remarkable views across this large open-air construct.

The early proposal (c. 1956-57) was different, with four-cube like structures tucked beneath massive undulating shaped roofs, possibly akin to futuristic thatch roofed huts. The later design was more formal, with a structural ring of columns and roofs arranged in a vast circle in a modular arrangement. It was the later design that was built and remains.