Roaring Flames
Senior Member
There is limestone on the current design.
- Thread starter Meikkhaell
- Start date
FCC1982
Senior Member
Albertasaurus
Senior Member
I'm sure I am in the minority here but I'm kind of a fan of the AA Centre. For an arena that's now 25 years old I think it holds up a lot better, aesthetically, than a lot of arenas of similar vintage (think Keybank Center or Canadian Tire Centre). I'm happy with what we're getting and think it'll look good once its complete, but if we had ended up with something more "retro" like a more modern interpretation of AA (sort of like Little Caesars), I would have been fine with it. I don't think ulta-modern aesthetics like Rogers Centre will hold up well when they're a quarter century old.
DiscoStu
Senior Member
Honestly I don't hate that either. Yeah it's perhaps a bit too on the nose with the traditional design, but the grand arched entrance is cool, the materials are solid, and overall the building gives a feeling of important things going on inside. It won't be there for 200 years, but it feels like it could.
I still have no idea what the Flames new stadium is trying to go for design wise. It's kind of a mishmash of meh. It doesn't have the strong silhouette of a Saddledome, yet also doesn't look like it's going to make up for it with quality materials or details.
I still have no idea what the Flames new stadium is trying to go for design wise. It's kind of a mishmash of meh. It doesn't have the strong silhouette of a Saddledome, yet also doesn't look like it's going to make up for it with quality materials or details.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Random angular walls and swoopy roof features on buildings like the new arena give me this vibe. It's like we want to design something "not boring" but actually don't have really much thought beyond that so ends up in a "lets just make more angles and the walls a bit weird". It's a fine design and the materials will be fine, just ends in that "meh" category for me too - doesn't seem intentional beyond a desire to not have a simple box shape. Not great, not terrible.
The irony is that in Calgary having a clean, sharp square-ish building with a flat roof or more modernist design aesthetic would be the not boring choice, in that we've always added weird swoopy curve and angular elements to our major buildings.
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
I think its thing is the landscaping and streetscape. That seems to be what they prioritized in the design. Unfortunately, the arenas busiest times of year will be when most people will hustle by the landscaping and streetscape to get inside. Although I guess the season is moving up to September and hopefully, we get some hockey in June in the arena.
DiscoStu
Senior Member
1) I don't think any building in Calgary should rely on street presence and landscaping to do its heavy lifting. I wish we could, but you know, "know thyself" and all.
2) Even if that's the case, the street presence doesn't seem particularly compelling or interesting. From what I see, it's still relatively sterile. But hopefully it's better in real life.
3) I admire your optimistic (if delusional) viewpoint of us having hockey in June. Maybe if we bring back the Rad'z.
2) Even if that's the case, the street presence doesn't seem particularly compelling or interesting. From what I see, it's still relatively sterile. But hopefully it's better in real life.
3) I admire your optimistic (if delusional) viewpoint of us having hockey in June. Maybe if we bring back the Rad'z.
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
Also, funny this has been brought up as an example. Soon it will have no major tenant. Both the Stars and Mavericks are moving to the suburbs and doing their own thing. The arena entertainment renaissance is spreading.
Plano City Council approves using $700 million in taxpayer funds to build new Dallas Stars arena
At a Plano City Council meeting on Monday night, city leaders took the first steps towards bringing the Dallas Stars to the North Texas suburb.
Honestly, I'd be surprised if CSEC doesn't join forces with the Stampede for "Calgary Live". 365 Days of income, who says no?
Albertasaurus
Senior Member
It seems like a lot of US franchises across all 4 major leagues want to use a new stadium/arena as a focal point within a new "entertainment district". The NFL situation is particularly interesting as the Bears, Browns, and Chiefs are all trying to extort their way to a fancy new taxpayer-funded facility, when there is nothing wrong with their existing ones in most cases. Unfortunately, none of them are being proposed downtown which is disastrous for already-struggling cities like Cleveland.
Tothewest
Active Member
Well, "theming" a design is what got us in trouble in the first place lol. The bottom line is, when you bury a rink this far in the ground, it changes the game bit design wise. The design team really only had 30 ft or so to work with, plus the need to have street level activation with stores/cafes/restaurants/offices, it didn't leave much LCA did a nice job, albeit with a much larger land parcel and a vastly bigger commercial/office footprint. It also hasn't moved the needle in helping the area, bc, well its detroit lol.
DiscoStu
Senior Member
I don't necessarily think it needed a "theme", as that can be tacky, but I do think it could have used a more defined point of view to work off of. If the intent was to burry the rink and have a more human-scaled design (which I think is great!) I just don't think they leaned into it enough. When I look at the street renderings, they still seem kind of soulless and sterile.
I mean this just looks like a plaza outside of any mall. Blank panelled walls, some cheap looking landscaping...and not much else to get you excited.
This has more potential, but still just sort of meh. The brick section here is nice, but still overall pretty basic. That concrete block of bushes seems to be more of hindrance than anything.
Maybe it ends up better than these renderings, but you'd think they'd want to show the best of what's possible. I wouldn't be particularly excited to hang out here in July, never mind February.
I mean this just looks like a plaza outside of any mall. Blank panelled walls, some cheap looking landscaping...and not much else to get you excited.
This has more potential, but still just sort of meh. The brick section here is nice, but still overall pretty basic. That concrete block of bushes seems to be more of hindrance than anything.
Maybe it ends up better than these renderings, but you'd think they'd want to show the best of what's possible. I wouldn't be particularly excited to hang out here in July, never mind February.
adamyyc
Senior Member
Is there? I believe you. I feel like it was a lot more prominent in the previous design. I like the current design better than the former iteration, but I did like the western facade at street level, and the entrances on the NW and SW corners better than the current design. I’m not a fan of the angular entrances with weird window placements.
I wish we could combine the upper portion of the new design with the western facade of the lower portion of the old design.
Cranny13
New Member
Seen a updated video steel is all around arena now no more ramp let’s go
Tothewest
Active Member
No single building is the only draw to an area on a non-event night. At the end of the day, it's still an arena, it was never going to have a groundbreaking design for the exterior restaurants/commercial spaces. They need entrances/windows, like any other building, all while working around mass stairwells and interior needs. There could have been ZERO activation with the street like most arenas, and all you would have had is windows into the concourse, or blank walls, or more LED? Viewed in totality with the immediate area, in 5-7 years I think it's transformative. I think the finishes are personal preference, to me it blends nicely with the upper section, with warmer wood and stone tones. The landscaping design is very good, imoI don't necessarily think it needed a "theme", as that can be tacky, but I do think it could have used a more defined point of view to work off of. If the intent was to burry the rink and have a more human-scaled design (which I think is great!) I just don't think they leaned into it enough. When I look at the street renderings, they still seem kind of soulless and sterile.
I mean this just looks like a plaza outside of any mall. Blank panelled walls, some cheap looking landscaping...and not much else to get you excited.
This has more potential, but still just sort of meh. The brick section here is nice, but still overall pretty basic. That concrete block of bushes seems to be more of hindrance than anything.
Maybe it ends up better than these renderings, but you'd think they'd want to show the best of what's possible. I wouldn't be particularly excited to hang out here in July, never mind February.
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
It is never the arena, but what surrounds the arena that drives vibrancy. Detroit and the Ilitch family have not followed up on developing surrounding parcels (maybe the LCA's large parcel cannibalized what the area could absorb?) It is interesting we're a year away from our arena opening and there has been zero announcements about surrounding properties.
There are some natural materials at street level that, sure, isn't brick but between that and the landscaping at least the exterior shouldn't feel like you're walking through a cold concrete and glass plaza (see the plaza outside of Rogers in Edmonton).