Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors new San Francisco home, is more than just a 18,064-seat arena for watching basketball. Programmed activities extend outside of the building’s walls and spill onto the surrounding area, creating a new major public open space for the city.
Designed by SWA, the pedestrian-friendly, year-round destination includes 100,000 sf of retail space and 3.2 acres of plazas, public open space, and adjacent office buildings and art installations. The public space becomes an entertainment venue in its own right as its series of outdoor spaces and performance/gathering areas are programmed to either complement events in the Chase Center or stand on their own.
The modular landscape, which was designed as a series of outdoor living rooms that can remake and animate the space as needed, was designed to serve a dual purpose. It directs circulation by guiding thousands of visitors to and from the arena, but it also offers a number of gathering spaces to accommodate those who want to relax and enjoy the offering of seasonal activities. Custom designed planters/seating modules can be moved by forklift to create space for ice skating, farmer’s markets, a car show, or an instant micro-garden.
“This is an urban mixed-use project and as such, it’s a bit of a chameleon," notes Rene Bihan, Managing Principal, SWA. “Neighbors can dine alongside the growing workforce and fans of sports and music. We designed the site to offer an urban stroll through a series of connected spaces that change with seasonal and event programming.”
See Also: Sports teams get in the game: Mixed-use developments are using sports stadiums as their anchors
Two of the projects major features are a 35,000-sf central plaza that doubles as an event space and a 25,000-sf triangular plaza that hosts a permanent installation titled “Seeing Spheres” by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. A wide, spiraling pedestrian path connects the spaces as it rises and curves alongside the arena, echoing the form of the arena and offering terraces and view platforms of the bay. The spiral theme is also repeated in the landscape through the site’s paving, with stainless steel bands embedded to convey a sense of circular movement, and in the scoring pattern of cast-in-place concrete. On the city side, pathways with seating connect to the ground plane to draw pedestrians from nearby transit and neighborhoods into the plaza’s central space.
A garden along 3rd Street provides a learning experience by showing the bio-filtration process by which plants help to cleanse all rain water on site. Additional native California plants exist throughout the ten-acre parcel of land to conserve water, provide shade canopy, and unify the area’s character.
Related Stories
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 3, 2014
Arthur Ashe Stadium the latest to tap Birdair
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and ROSSETTI, the architect of record for the Arthur Ashe Stadium, tapped Birdair to supply a 210,000-square-foot, PTFE membrane, retractable roof, expected to be installed by 2016.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jun 18, 2014
Six World Cup stadiums have achieved LEED certification
In conjunction with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that six World Cup stadiums have achieved LEED certification, including South America’s largest stadium, Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
Smart Buildings | Jun 8, 2014
Big Data: How one city took control of its facility assets with data
Over the past few years, Buffalo has developed a cutting-edge facility management program to ensure it's utilizing its facilities and operations as efficiently, effectively, and sustainably as possible.
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
