ellerbe becket and shop architects: atlantic yards

bruce ratner’s atlantic yards -basketball arena

bruce ratner’s atlantic yards’ basketball arena originally was to be designed by frank gehry, but earlier this summer he was replaced with the kansas city firm ellerbe becket, whose preliminary designs elicited howls of protest.

on september 9, the developer released another batch of arena renderings, the third version of the 675,000-square-foot arena. according to the associated press, the price for the project is 800 million USD, reduced from an earlier estimate of 1 billion USD.

altering their original proposal ellerbe becket and shop architects have incorporated some of the ideas of gehry to their new design. the rust-colored skin, woven out of weathered steel panels, has the look of worn snakeskin; it is perforated with small openings that will make it glow at night, and it has a toughness that should fit well into its gritty setting. 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. 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.

to defer additional costs, mr. ratner has divided up the design. the arena will be built first, and then, he says, the foundations for the residential and commercial buildings will be dug, once he is ready to start the next stage of construction.

bruce ratner’s atlantic yards, the nets basketball arena

model of atlantic yards

model of atlantic yards

in mr. gehry’s original design, all of the structures were conceived as part of a single cohesive scheme. see images of gehry’s original project of atlantic yards’

detail of gehry’s arena

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