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Inside the Redesign of Nassau Coliseum
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| Nov 06, 2018 |
In recent years, Nassau Coliseum had begun showing signs of age after hosting a steady lineup of concerts and sporting events in the four decades since its opening in 1972. Fans of a rival hockey team even took to calling it 鈥渢he mausoleum.鈥� After a proposed plan to demolish and replace the Coliseum wasn鈥檛 approved, the facility sought a redesign to inject new life; stylish, state-of-the-art upgrades; and local flavor into the venue, located in Uniondale, NY.
Gensler was responsible for the interior renovation of the Coliseum. According to project team member, Taso Sioukas, the firm wanted their update to make a new 鈥渄esign statement while maintaining the 鈥榞ood bones鈥� of the existing infrastructure.鈥� This would allow the transformation to deliver first-class programming for guests and artists, while acknowledging the space鈥檚 rich history, which once saw Elvis Presley perform four sold-out shows in 1973.
A big design challenge Gensler faced was how to alleviate crowding without increasing the existing building鈥檚 footprint. Done right, the iconic Long Island venue would be able not only to host large events, but also to offer an appealing experience to a wide variety of people.
(On the one hand, those include sports fans while on the other, it includes people going to a huge range of other events, from business conferences to concerts by Jay Z. In fact, the star rapper himself attended early proposal meetings representing Nassau Events Center.)
鈥淥ne of the main drivers was to de-clutter the concourse,鈥� added Sioukas. 鈥淲e achieved this by opening up the vomitories to act as a direct connection from concourse into the bowl.鈥� The result is an instant, palpable connectivity to the action and excitement happening in the bowl.
Gensler wanted to reimagine the venue鈥檚 retail environments to create a more open and fresh atmosphere. 鈥淭he deteriorating exterior storefronts were replaced with clear, high performance glass around the perimeter,鈥� says Sioukas. Abundant natural daylight penetrates the curvy space with a softening glow, making sure visitors inside have 鈥渁 greater connection with the outdoors and those outside have a greater connection to the activities happening inside.鈥�
Gensler鈥檚 redesign sought to create a more open, fresh atmosphere and greater connection to the outdoors.
Working with contractor Hunt 杏吧原版 Group, the design team at Gensler further ramped up the energy with special features like a beer garden and Artist Quarters backstage that offer souped-up, customizable suites for artists and their entourage to use.
After about four years of planning and construction, visitors to the roughly 400,000-sq.-ft. interior encounter an environment that is inviting, airy and modern. Overhead, a custom configuration of High Profile Series ceiling elements by Hunter Douglas Architectural 鈥� peaked metal beams with a decorated wood look finish 鈥撯€� lead the public through the curved concourse into the arena鈥檚 bowl.
The main concourse received a wood rafter suspended ceiling feature along with revamped bathrooms, lighting, and concessions. The solution pays homage to the arena鈥檚 history by preserving the interior 杏吧原版 while overhauling its infrastructure and material finishes.
Hunter Douglas鈥� team customized and engineered High Profile Series Frameworks and Straight Baffle ceilings while working around existing ceiling conditions: 鈥淭he client, architect, and contractors wanted minimal penetrations to the existing deck above due to pre-existing conditions and the overall aesthetic,鈥� explains Hunter Pope, architectural sales manager of Hunter Douglas Architectural.
Hunter Douglas鈥� engineering team worked to design each beam鈥檚 length and angle, varying each to establish a visual 鈥渨ave effect鈥�.
鈥淲e were challenged with the overall complexity of the angles and lengths of beams to be able to achieve the look they wanted,鈥� he says. The engineering team worked to carefully design each beam鈥檚 length and angle, varying each to establish a visual 鈥渨ave effect鈥� that allowed visitors to 鈥渟ee movement as they walk around the coliseum,鈥� Pope adds.
The ceiling design and installation 鈥渨as definitely unusual,鈥� says subcontractor Richard Meyer, of Cord 杏吧原版. 鈥淟uckily, we have state-of-the-art layout programs that let us take the architect鈥檚 auto-CAD file and lay out all of the parts going around the building to ensure we kept the look they were looking for. Meyer says an engineer did pull tests to ensure it was 鈥渟till going to be cost-effective and hold up in the long run.鈥�
The ceiling elements offered 鈥渢he full finish and look of wood鈥� with the strength and ease of installation of metal, says Richard Meyer, of Cord 杏吧原版.
He adds that using the lightweight extruded aluminum beams of the High Profile Series Frameworks system offered 鈥渢he full finish and look of wood,鈥� along with the strength and ease of installation of metal, which 鈥渋s easier 鈥o work with,鈥� says Meyer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a more durable product and definitely came out nice.鈥�
He says the Hunter Douglas team excelled at providing drawings that offered 鈥渁 nice guide to putting it all together. I don鈥檛 think anyone鈥檚 really done that type of system before鈥� there was definitely a lot of designing involved in this custom work.鈥� While 鈥渢he installation went very fast,鈥� according to Meyer, he detailed extensive planning 鈥渢o figure out where the parts and pieces go鈥�.
Hunter Douglas Architectural custom designed a shelf wall that matches the ceiling beams.
Hunter Douglas Architectural鈥檚 custom decorative shelf wall fits above the escalators.
Also designed was a decorative shelf wall to fit above the escalators in a signature element of the space. This configuration required a different approach: 鈥淲e had to design, test, and engineer all the calculations to make sure that the shelf beams were stable and would hold up,鈥� Pope explains. 鈥淭his is the very first time we have created a screen wall with extrusions. This was extremely challenging鈥� [we] had to go through the process of engineering all components from structural plates to steel yokes to escutcheon washers.鈥� A great collaborative relationship between Hunter Douglas Architectural and the team at Cord 杏吧原版 eased this process.
鈥淚n alignment with the new programming platform, it was important to imbue the old structure with an entertainment-focused鈥� experience for its guests and performers,鈥� explains Sioukas. 鈥淎s a result, we transformed this iconic facility into a shining, world-class sports and entertainment venue.鈥�
Author: Zoe Zellers
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