The Milwaukee Bucks are working with the city and state officials to hopefully break ground on a new arena in July. While much of what happens next with the arena remains up in the air, the Bucks did unveil some more detailed images of their proposed arena to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel yesterday. Mary Louise Schumacher, the newspaper’s art and architecture critic, details the images and the unique look of the proposed facility (there’s a gallery here) which was confirmed by the team this morning via an official release:
The first detailed glimpse of the new downtown Milwaukee arena reveals a giant building with a dramatically arcing roof, curving body, tall sheets of glass, social spaces — and a few challenges yet to overcome.
The Milwaukee Bucks will share the development plans with the City of Milwaukee on Thursday; several renderings were released in advance to the Journal Sentinel. They are considerably more detailed than the conceptual renderings released in April 2015 and represent the first step in a public design approval process that’s required for construction to begin.
More importantly, they underscore the broader vision for the signature project, which has been both controversial and more anticipated than any downtown project since the Milwaukee Art Museum addition designed by Santiago Calatrava.
“I think in 10 or 20 years from now, you’ll look back and say this was the spark that changed downtown Milwaukee,” said Brad Clark of Populous, one of the lead architects on the job. The architects are careful to describe the submitted plans as in-progress.
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 on W. Juneau Ave. and arcs dramatically over the glassy entrance.
The roof is the “big move,” the statement of the $500 million building, said Clark. It will be clad in long, thin zinc panels chemically treated to achieve a gritty, brown-rust patina. The matte panels can take on a leather-like look and will change appearance in varying types of light, said Gabe Braselton, one of the lead project managers at Populous.
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The windows will be treated with a ceramic silk-screen pattern to accentuate the curvy shape of the building. The glass will be more transparent where the exterior bulges and more opaque near the base and roof.
The ceramic treatment — called fritting — will be used in varying degrees of opaqueness on horizontal bars of glass on the glassy entrance, which remains similar to designs revealed last year.
The exterior facades facing 6th St. and Highland Ave., which will be opened up to traffic according to the plan, are also being seen for the first time. The 6th St. side of the building, featuring a 30-foot-tall section that is distinct from the main arena structure, features a smaller entrance, a functioning mechanical yard and an enclosed loading dock.
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The architects have also 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.
Proximity to the water table prevented the below-grade approach. “It was a multi-multimillion dollar challenge,” Clark said. Still, the arena will be shorter by about 25 feet than its predecessor, the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Inside, the arena is designed to accommodate a variety of events, from basketball to ice shows to rodeos.
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The lobby is a soaring 90 feet tall, meant to be a place of occasion and people watching, with grand staircases flanking each side. Every level of the arena opens up into this space, offering city views. Columns are angled to give the lobby a more dynamic feel.