flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Populous celebrates its 40th anniversary with a photo exhibit of its works

Architects

Populous celebrates its 40th anniversary with a photo exhibit of its works

The firm partnered with Getty Images to assemble more than 60 images, many capturing fan ardor.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | December 5, 2023
BBVA Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, one of Populous' projects. Image: Jorge Torbaoda/Populous
The open roof of BBVA Stadium gives fans a stunning view of Monterrey, Mexico's, mountain range. The stadium was one of 56 images of Populous' work on display in New York City recently. Image: Jorge Toboada/Populous

When the architectural design firm Populous celebrated its 25th anniversary, it commemorated that landmark with a book of its projects. For its 40th anniversary this year, the firm wanted to do something more: to convey the excitement of fans who attended sporting and entertainment events in and around stadiums and arenas that Populous played a pivotal role in creating.

In partnership with Getty Images, Populous curated “Live Emotion,” an exhibit of striking photographs from Getty’s and Populous’ archives that focus on the firm’s work over the past four decades.

Sixty-one images in total were available to be mounted for the exhibit, which debuted at Noho Showrooms in London on November 25, and last weekend within 9,669 sf of gallery space on the first floor of The Starrett-Lehigh Building in New York. The exhibit, which has been open to the public, will also be shown in Brisbane, Australia.

(Click here to see the digital interactive gallery)

Photos trigger memories

The exhibit includes a diversity of photos of such well-known venues as O2 Arena and Wembley Stadium in London, Yankee Stadium in New York, the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, and the 132,000-seat Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Gujarat, India.

Earl Santee, Populous’ Global Chair and Founder, told BD+C that the motivation behind the exhibit was to “trigger” in its visitors at least a semblance of the personal emotions that sport events evoke in their fans. In fact, he pointed out how photography of sporting venues is more likely to focus on the athletes, performers, and fans than the building itself. That is even truer today, as many sports venues are being designed to be components of year-round destinations.

“We’ve always viewed our [sports and entertainment] buildings as mid-size convention centers,” quipped Scott Capstack, Populous’ Senior Principal and Design Director. Capstack and Santee also pointed out that some newer sports and entertainment venues can have as many as 20 to 25 “mini destinations” like restaurants, performance spaces, gift shops, and so forth, all with the potential for creating memories for visitors.

Yankee Stadium, New York City. Image: Christine Radecic/Populous
The $2.3 billion Yankee Stadium opened in April 2009. Populous (then known as HOK Sport) was the architect, Thornton Tomasetti the SE, and Turner Construction the GC. Image: Christine Radecic/Populous
Climate Pledge Arena
A WNBA game at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, whose roof design takes its cue from the city's famed space needle. Image: Steph Chambers/Getty Images
CommBank Stadium, in Parramatta, Australia, west of Sydney, seats up to 30,000 people, It opened in April 2019. Image: Venues Live/Populous

Tags

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

Will Alsop to head up new RMJM studio

Will Alsop, the internationally acclaimed British architect and designer of the Glenwood Waterfront project on the Hudson River, is to turn his attention once again to the U.S. after announcing he is to create a studio called “Will Alsop at RMJM,” as part of the RMJM worldwide architectural firm.

| Aug 11, 2010

AECOM, WATG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest hotel design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 Hotel Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

| Aug 11, 2010

Parsons Brinckerhoff, Dewberry among nation's largest multifamily design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report

A ranking of the Top 75 Multifamily Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants

| Aug 11, 2010

USGBC’s Greenbuild 2009 brings global ideas to local main streets

Save the planet with indigenous knowledge. Make permanent water part of your life. Dive deep water for clues to environmental success.  Connect site selection to successful creative concepting. Explore the unknown with Discovery Channel’s best known guide. These are but a few of the big ideas participants can connect to at USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, taking place on November 11-13, 2009 in Phoenix, Ariz.

| Aug 11, 2010

Goettsch Partners wins design competition for Soochow Securities HQ in China

Goettsch Partners (GP) has been selected as the winning firm in the competition to design the Soochow Securities Headquarters, the new office and stock exchange building for Soochow Securities Co. Ltd. The 21-story, 441,300-square-foot project includes 344,400 square feet of office space, an 86,100-square-foot stock exchange, meeting rooms, classrooms, a cafeteria, and underground parking for 400 cars and 800 bicycles.

| Aug 11, 2010

RMJM unveils design details for $1B green development in Turkey

International architecture company RMJM today announced details of the $1 billion Varyap Meridian development it is designing in Istanbul’s new residential and business district, which will be one of the "greenest" projects in Turkey. The luxury 372,000-square-meter development on a site totalling 107,000 square meters will be located in the Atasehir district of Istanbul, which the Turkish government intends to transform into the country’s new financial district and business center.

| Aug 11, 2010

Urban Land Institute honors five 'outstanding' developments in Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Five outstanding developments have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) 2009 Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) competition. This year, the competition also included the announcement of two special award winners. The Awards for Excellence competition is widely regarded as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program.

| Aug 11, 2010

Design firms slash IT spending in 2009

Over half of architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms (55%) are budgeting less for information technology in 2009 than they did in 2008, according to a new report from ZweigWhite. The 2009 Information Technology Survey reports that firms' 2009 IT budgets are a median of 3.3% of net service revenue, down from 3.6% in 2008. Firms planning to decrease spending are expected to do so by a median of 20%.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Education Facilities

Studio Gang designs agricultural education center for the New York City Housing Authority

Earlier this month, the City of New York broke ground on the new $18.2 million Marlboro Agricultural Education Center (MAEC) at the New York City Housing Authority’s Marlboro Houses in Brooklyn. In line with the mission of its nonprofit operator, The Campaign Against Hunger, MAEC aims to strengthen food autonomy and security in underserved neighborhoods. MAEC will provide Marlboro Houses with diverse, community-oriented programs.



Architects

HED and Larson Incitti Architects merge, combine Denver staff

HED, a leading national architecture and engineering firm, today announced a merger with award-winning, Denver-based Larson Incitti Architects (LIA). The merger combines LIA's staff with HED's Denver office, significantly expanding the local team and leveraging community relationships to create new opportunities across multiple market sectors.


Airports

SOM unveils ‘branching’ structural design for new Satellite Concourse 1 at O’Hare Airport

The Chicago Department of Aviation has revealed the design for Satellite Concourse 1 at O’Hare International Airport, one of the nation’s business airports. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), with Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (JGMA), and Arup, the concourse will be the first new building in the Terminal Area Program, the largest concourse area expansion and revitalization in the airport’s almost seven-decade history. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021