Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards

Project Details

Project Description

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.” —Ian Volner