
Category: Play
Citation
This citation-winning project has hardly wanted for media exposure. Benefiting, among other things, from the patronage of rapper Jay-Z, SHoP’s Barclays Center has turned out to be the biggest thing to hit Brooklyn since the bridge. “It’s a transformative project,” said juror David Jameson, echoing fellow jurist Cathy Lang Ho’s assertion that the sports and entertainment arena has “completely changed the neighborhood.”
Sitting atop the railyards for the Atlantic Terminal of the Long Island Railroad, the 675,000-square-foot project had a tortured development history (including an ill-fated proposal from Frank Gehry, FAIA) before being handed to SHoP and then opening, on time, last year. A giant Mobius strip marquee—which some residents have compared to the mouth of an enormous whale—greets visitors emerging from the subway, creating a moment of urban drama in the midst of the modest Brooklyn streetscape. With room for 18,000 guests to take in an anticipated 200 events per year, the building had to be efficient and durable, and it made the grade with a rugged weathered steel cladding and sustainability features that earned it a LEED Silver rating. Summing up the views of the awards committee, juror David Dowell, put it succinctly: “The Barclays Center has received so much attention,” he said. “But I still think for what it represents—it’s gold.”
See all of the winners of ARCHITECT's 2013 Annual Design Review here.
For additional coverage of the Barclays Center, please read Philip Nobel's piece from the November 2013 issue of ARCHITECT.
For more projects by SHoP Architects, please visit ARCHITECT's Firm Profile.









Project Credits
Project Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Client Forest City Ratner Companies
Architect SHoP Architects, New York—Christopher R. Sharples, AIA, William W. Sharples, AIA, Coren D. Sharples, AIA, Kimberly J. Holden, AIA, Gregg A. Pasquarelli, AIA, Jonathan Mallie, AIA (principals); Ayumi Sugiyama, AIA, Nadine Berger, Christopher Lee, Adam Modesitt (project managers); Sean Bailey, Assoc. AIA, Zach Downey, Rajiv Fernandez, Dickson Fogelman, Youngmoo Hur, Isaiah King, Jan Leenknegt, Tim Martone, Paul Miller, Krista Ninivaggi, Anabelle Pang, Gene Pasquarelli, Daniel Plonski, Brandon Quattrone, Mariano Recalde, Ryan Salvas, Lisa Schwert, Todd Sigaty, Zack Snyder, Tiffany Taraska, Maria Wong, Georgia Wright, Wontae Yang, Bill Yeung (design team); SHoP Construction, New York—Brian Sweeney, John Cerone (project managers); Peter Adams, Tomek Bartczak, Lindsey Cohen, Jon David, Russell Davies, Adham ElGhatit, Jesse Embley, Adam Gerber, Alexis Gonzalez, Konrad Graser, John Gulliford, Kyla Farrell, Asmita Jani, Julie Jira, Emily Johnson, Taek Kim, Mathew Kirkham, Alexis Lenza, Steve London, Tom McInerney, Mark Ours, Ildiko Ozavath, Mark Pollock, Joseph Reyes, Jason Roberts, Luke Smith, Foteinos Soulos, Hashim Sulieman, Assoc. AIA, Caroline Young (team)
Architect of Record AECOM; Ellerbe Beckett
Design Builder Hunt Construction Group
Structural Engineer Thornton Tomasetti; Stantec (plaza)
M/E/P Engineer WSP Flack + Kurtz
ADA Consultant McGuire Associates
Acoustical Engineer Acoustical Design Group
Audiovisual Parsons; WJHW
Code Consultant FP&C Consultants
Façade Consultant ASI Limited; SHoP Construction
Façade Steel Monitoring Admetco; Dissimilar Metal Design
Geotechnical Langan
Graphics/Signage/Wayfinding Pentagram
LEED Consultant e4
Lighting Goldstick Lighting; Tillotson Design
Vertical Transportation VDA/Lerch Bates
Size 675,000 square feet
Cost $675 million