Tampa Bay Design Week 2025 starts Sunday
Tampa Bay Design Week is set to kick off Sunday (April 13) for a celebration of design, architecture and the talents of those whose creativity brings dreams on a page to life in our communities.
Sponsored by the American Institute of Architects’ Center for Architecture and Design in Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Design Week features daily events that will provide an “exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the award winning architecture and talented architects shaping our community.” Design Week events will span the bay, starting in downtown St. Petersburg and closing in Lakeland, and showcase a diverse array of Tampa Bay’s most significant and iconic neighborhoods, buildings and thinkers in their crafts.
Design Week was founded in 2014 to bring together architects, designers, city leaders and citizens. “Design has the power to affect everyone at some level in a positive way,” Design Week Committee Chair Kim Headland said at the time. “There’s a bigger interest in design and how it affects daily life.”
That interest has only grown in the booming decade since, judging by the far larger and more ambitious scope of the 2025 iteration, which partners with some of the region’s most iconic organizations and landmarks.
“It’s a unique opportunity to explore some of Tampa Bay’s exceptional architectural design up close,” Jody Beck, President of AIA Tampa Bay told the Catalyst. “As Tampa continues to gain recognition for its cultural assets, we’re thrilled to showcase the region’s remarkable architecture.”
Recently named a Local Historic District, St. Petersburg’s Mirror Lake District will be the subject of a walking tour Sunday.
The events launch in St. Petersburg Sunday with a tour of Mirror Lake, which was recently dedicated a Historic District by the St. Petersburg City Council. The tour is being held in partnership with Preserve the ‘Burg and led by its executive director, Manny Leto.
Design Week’s signature free event will be Monday at the Tampa Theatre, which will host two different short films on the architectural work of Thom Mayne and Robin Donaldson; both will be present for the panel discussion.
The week continues with walking and river tours of iconic Tampa landmarks in conversation with estimable architects from Tampa Bay and beyond, culminating in Saturday’s joint events at the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College and the Winter Haven home and office of Gene Leedy, a founder of the Sarasota School and internationally-celebrated architect and designer.
Tampa Bay Design Week Events:
Sunday, April 13: Historic Mirror Lake Walking Tour
10-11:30 a.m.
100 Mirror Lake Drive N, St. Petersburg
$20
Monday, April 14: Film and Panel Discussion: The House: 6 Points of Departure and This Is Not a House
5:30 – 8 p.m.
Tampa Theatre, 711 S Franklin Street, Tampa
Free
Tuesday, April 15: Tour: USF Genshaft Honors College
6-7:30 p.m.
University of South Florida, 12260 USF Genshaft Drive, Tampa
$20
Wednesday, April 16: 20×20: Perspectives from Award-Winning Architects
6-7 p.m.
Center for Architecture & Design, Tampa Bay, 1208 North Howard Avenue, Tampa
$20
Thursday, April 17: Water Street Walking Tour
5:30-7:30pm
1001 Water Street, Tampa
$30
Friday, April 18: Tampa Urban Riverboat Tour
6-7 p.m.
Tampa Convention Center Marina, 333 S Franklin St, Tampa
$45
Saturday, April 19: Discover the Art of Gene Leedy, FAIA, and the Polk Museum of Art
12-8 p.m.
800 East Palmetto Street, Lakeland (Museum)
1518 Drexel Ave NE, Winter Haven (Leedy House Tour)
$30 ($60 for optional evening reception, 6 p.m.)
