Falcons stadium designer proposes that new sports facility may look like...this? (Update)
Are you more of a “Solarium” or “Pantheon” kind of person?
- GWCC
- “The Pantheon”
The Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the Atlanta Falcons have struck a deal with 360 Architecture to design a new stadium.
The two organizations had selected 360 Architecture the “apparent awardee” a few weeks ago, which allowed the Kansas City-based design firm a first crack at reaching a stadium deal.
“Selecting a lead architect is a very significant decision in the new stadium process,” Falcons President and CEO Rich McKay said in a statement. “360’s creativity and qualifications made them the best fit for this project, and we believe they will put us in the best position to deliver the ultimate game day experience for our fans, as well as serving at the highest level the needs of current Georgia Dome events and other new events in the future.”
WSB-TV reports that the firm will likely be paid between $28 and $35 million. That figure is based off a 4 to 5 percent cut of the projected $700 million cost to build the stadium’s structure. A proposed “concept photo” for looks, well, like either a heaping pile of scrap metal, a futuristic UFO, or an origami-inspired colander:
NEW IMAGES: Concept photo for the new Falcons stadium: twitter.com/wsbtv/status/3...
- WSB-TV (@wsbtv) April 30, 2013
360 Architecture senior principal William Johnson had presented yesterday two possible designs for the new facility to a GWCCA committee. Here’s how Saporta Report described them:
One circular concept included a swirling roof design of smaller, lighter roof panels that would open up to the full length of the football field in between five to seven minutes. Johnson called that concept the Pantheon of Atlanta design.
The other design was a rectangular stadium where to large roof panels would pull back into wing-like structures in under 12 minutes. Johnson called that one the Solarium concept.
On the bright side, at least those proposed “wing-like” gizmos will have more of a function than Underground Atlanta’s set of wings.
UPDATE, 2:40 p.m. The GWCCA says that its Board of Governors unanimously approved the contract with 360 Architecture for $35 million. This now allows the design process, or the “fun part” as Falcons Owner calls it, to now formally begin.
The entire design agreement can be read in the embed below.
As far as 360 Architecture’s proposed timeline goes, the conceptual design is scheduled to be approved in early June, a final design would be signed off on sometime in April 2014, and construction document would get the green light by March 2015.
We’ve also included some more renderings from 360 Architecture’s presentation below.