The Bucks today will "share the development plans" for their new downtown arena with the City of Milwaukee, and several renderings "were released in advance," according to a front-page piece by Mary Louise Schumacher of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. The visuals are "considerably more detailed" than the conceptual renderings released in April '15 and "represent the first step in a public design approval process that's required for construction to begin." They also "underscore the broader vision for the signature project." The shape of the 714,000-square-foot arena's arcing roof has "changed subtly from initial plans." The abstract, wavelike form "begins near the base of the building" and "arcs dramatically over the glassy entrance." Populous Senior Architect & Senior Principal Brad Clark said the roof is the "big move," the statement of the $500M building. It will be "clad in long, thin zinc panels chemically treated to achieve a gritty, brown-rust patina." Populous Architect & Associate Principal Gabe Braselton said that the matte panels can "take on a leather-like look and will change appearance in varying types of light." Meanwhile, the sculptural, zinc-shingled side is "punctuated with thin windows of varying widths that are angled for a faceted appearance." The architects "decided to construct the arena completely above ground, which presents additional challenges, including creating a welcome environment for pedestrians." It means the whole volume of the building is visible, "making it taller and tighter to the edges of the site than originally hoped for" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/17).
NEXT STEP: In Milwaukee, Mark Kass notes the team "plans to submit all of its plans for the arena, practice facility and planned parking structure to the city this afternoon." City officials will "spend the next several weeks reviewing all of the details, with approval set for the next several months." Bucks execs said that the design "features an intimate seating bowl optimized for basketball viewing with the majority of the seats in the lower level closer to the action, while still providing the flexibility to host hockey games, end stage and center stage concerts, family shows, circuses and ice events, as well as open-floor exhibitions." The design "caters to the next generation of fans, featuring open and transparent concourses, additional social spaces within view of the action, and a variety of experiential and premium seating options" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/17).
