STADIUM GOES THROUGH THE HOOP
21 Aug 2019
AECOM has released designs for a sustainable stadium in Inglewood that will act as the hub for the LA Clippers basketball team, which features a unique solar panel tile cladding system inspired by a basketball net.
Working with Anderson Barker Architects, the City Design Studio of Los Angeles and Hood Studios, the team's proposal includes a solar panel tile cladding system around the building and sunken basketball court. The project's façade was designed to symbolise the diamond shapes in a basketball net.
Funded by owner Steve Ballmer, the new 105,218-square-metre Inglewood Basketball & Entertainment Complex would house everything from the Clippers’ corporate headquarters to the team’s training facility. The team currently practices in Playa Vista with a business office in downtown Los Angeles and plays in Staples Centre.
The arena complex will be entirely privately financed with no public money used and will require no additional infrastructure surrounding the site to be paid for by the city. Renderings show three parking garages, a sports medicine clinic, spaces for parks and educational facilities, restaurants and businesses and an indoor court available to the community.
“My goal is simple: I want the Clippers to have the best home in all of sports,” said Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer. “What that means to me is an unparalleled environment for players, for fans, for sponsors and for the community of Inglewood. Our goal is to build a facility that re-sets fans’ expectations while having a transformative impact on the city we will call home.”
The Clippers campus is also designed to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a combination of carbon offset credits and sustainable design features.
The Clippers arena aims to begin construction in 2021 and open three years later as its lease at Staples ends in 2024.
Via ArchDaily | Images courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers and AECOM