ArchShowcase Sanjay Gangal
Sanjay Gangal is the President of IBSystems, the parent company of AECCafe.com, MCADCafe, EDACafe.Com, GISCafe.Com, and ShareCG.Com. East Village Stadium Masterplan in San Diego by DBRDSApril 6th, 2011 by Sanjay Gangal
Lately, for various reasons, there has been constant instability and uncertainty that has impeded generating a sporting culture in San Diego where support for the home team is part of the urban and social fabric of the city. The idea of the San Diego Chargers leaving to another location (most possibly LA) created a somber feeling amongst their fans. With that thought, DBRDS wanted to explore an architectural solution for a new stadium downtown that would capture the imagination of the City, the fans & the Chargers to be inspired to want to stay & forever belong in San Diego… to become an iconic fabric of people’s in this great City.
The downtown site, located in East Village, between the Ballpark District and Barrio Logan has already in place a transportation network consisting of the main road routes of the I-5, I-805 the 163 and the 94. The trolley networks are already established in downtown San Diego with a major interchange station located adjacent to the proposed site. The site is also located next to an existing rail network, primarily a commercial rail yard serving the waterfront, which has potential to expand and cater to passenger use. There is already over 50,000 parking spaces in Downtown, and unlike the current Charger Stadium, this could be a truly multi-model transportation hub in downtown, where people come by foot, bike, trolley, train, car and bus. The design of the proposed stadium is inspired by the lightning bolt which is the San Diego Charger’s football logo. The bolt logo is simply mirrored to create a circular bolt, and this shape is extruded, tapered and twisted in the direction of the bolt to create the exciting and dynamic form. The skin of the stadium proposes to have metallic cladding in the colors of the San Diego Chargers. We also propose the notion of incorporating solar panels & other sustainable building materials & methods to elevate the longevity & sustainability of the stadium. Currently, the majority stadium site is made up of up all of existing parking lots, therefore the interruption of the existing urban fabric is minimal. The site surrounding the stadium location will be respected and integrated into the overall stadium master plan and the current existing urban fabric particularly the historic buildings along J Street. The existing car parking lots are intended to be covered over with a proposed world-class urban park. dbrds proposes that the new stadium be part of a world-class urban park which forms part of and connects with the San Diego downtown urban fabric. The proposed stadium and the surrounding open spaces could be seen, and marketed as the outdoor extension of the nearby convention center. The proposed stadium and urban park should not be seen as the solution to the Chargers stadium dilemma, but rather an infrastructure and urban possibility not only for the Chargers Football team but for potential Soccer World Cups, Super Bowls, Concerts and Cultural Events just to name a few.
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Tags: California, San Diego |