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September 9, 2009
BARCLAYS CENTER PRESS RELEASE: ELLERBE BECKET AND SHoP ARCHITECTS TO COLLABORATE ON BARCLAYS CENTER AT ATLANTIC YARDS
New, Innovative Design to Create Iconic Brooklyn Landmark
(Brooklyn, NY) – September 9, 2009 – Bruce Ratner, the Chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), the developer of Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, announced today that the award-winning architectural firms Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects will collaborate on the design of the Barclays Center, the new world-class sports and entertainment venue that will serve as the anchor of the planned development and home to the NETS Basketball team.
FCRC also released new design images of the 675,000 square-foot arena, which will be located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn. The images can be seen at www.barclayscenter.com. The images and a model will also be available for public viewing at Brooklyn Borough Hall beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, September 14, 2009.
“The Barclays Center will quickly become an iconic part of the Brooklyn landscape,” said Mr. Ratner. “The design is elegant and intimate and also a bold architectural statement that will nicely complement the surrounding buildings and neighborhoods. The Barclays Center will be innovative in its look and use of materials, including weathered steel and glass, and will be the best place in the world to watch a basketball game and other forms of sports and entertainment.”
Several images were released today that show the Barclays Center from different perspectives, including each major arrival point at the site perimeter. The arena was designed to accommodate other buildings on the arena block that will be part of the Atlantic Yards development, including three mixed-income residential buildings and the commercial building known as B1, along with the Urban Room that will provide access to the Barclays Center.
The building consists of three separate but woven bands. The first engages the ground where the weathered steel exterior rises and lowers to create a sense of visual transparency, transitioning into a grand civic gesture that cantilevers out into a spectacular canopy at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. The canopy, which is 30 feet above ground level, contains an oculus that frames the pedestrian’s view of the arena. The second, a glass band, allows for views from inside and outside of the arena. The third band floats around the roof of the Barclays Center and varies in transparency, the weathered steel creating backlit patterns.
The woven band of the canopy will flow out over the arena entrance, creating a seamless visual transition and helping to frame a large viewing portal into the seating area. The main concourse is placed right at street level, allowing a direct view to and from the street. Large areas of glass at street level make it not only pedestrian-friendly, but also encourage a strong visual connection to the surrounding urban neighborhood.
Construction is expected to begin on the arena later this year, with an anticipated opening during the 2011 – 12 NETS season.
link [PDF]
NoLandGrab: If that's not enough for you, click through for the rest of the press release, including bits about how an urban arena must delight its neighbors and how the arena "Founding Partners" will have branded "neighborhoods," like "ADT Plaza" and the "EmblemHealth Entrance." For real.
Posted by eric at September 9, 2009 1:19 PM