Florida Poly ‘spaceship’ building is now ‘breathtaking’

Florida Polytechnic University’s main building that looks a louvered flying saucer at rest “now ranks as one of the 16 “most breathtaking” buildings in the world, the school said in a Monday press release.

“Business Insider’s ‘Tech Insider’ magazine surveyed 16 prominent architects, asking each to pick just one structure they fondly think of as ‘breathtaking,’” the release said.

This latest survey puts it in the same ranks as “the Parthenon in Greece, the Empire State Building and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater residence,” the school said.

The structure already has won several other awards.

The building, known formally as the Innovation, Science and Technology (IST) Building, was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava.

He also designed “a new transit station at the rebuilt World Trade Center, a spiraling ‘Turning Torso’ skyscraper in Sweden and the Peace Bridge in Calgary,” the release said.

Florida Poly, founded by conservative former state Sen. JD Alexander, was established as the state’s 12th university in 2012, dedicated exclusively to STEM learning (science, technology, engineering and math).

The school now offers six bachelor’s degree programs and two master’s degree programs. It does not yet offer doctorate programs.