FCRC Unveils New Arena Design

NEW YORK CITY-Forest City Ratner Cos. said Wednesday that SHoP Architects will collaborate with Ellerbe Becket on the design of the Barclays Center, the basketball arena that will anchor FCRC’s Atlantic Yards project. The developer also released new design images of the arena, marking the third iteration of the 675,000-square-foot sports and entertainment venue.

In a statement, FCRC chairman and CEO Bruce Ratner says the arena “will quickly become an iconic part of the Brooklyn landscape.” He calls the Ellerbe/SHoP design “elegant and intimate and also a bold architectural statement that will nicely complement the surrounding buildings and neighborhoods.” The arena will be located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn.

The images of the redesigned arena can be seen at www.barclayscenter.com. The images and a model will also be available for public viewing at Brooklyn Borough Hall beginning on Monday, Sept. 14, according to a release.

Originally, the arena, and the mega-project as a whole, were designed by architect Frank Gehry. However, facing challenges in financing the project, FCRC scrapped the Gehry design in early June. Early images of the scaled-down Ellerbe design, which FCRC has said were preliminary, came in for criticism as hangar-like.

According to the release, the new Ellerbe/SHoP design for the arena seeks to accommodate other buildings on the arena block that will be part of the Atlantic Yards development. They include 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.