Huntington Center Arena

Working as design partners, The Collaborative and HNTB collaborated on the design of the exterior skin of the new Arena. HNTB designed the interior, including the performance area and support functions. The Collaborative Inc coordinated the overall sustainable design for the facility.

As a teaching tool for the community, each sustainable initiative is represented visually. For example, the vegetated wall shows how plant life can shade and cool the earth. Light shelves elsewhere on the building allow the interior spaces to take advantage of natural lighting, while minimizing glare. The Rain Wall water feature represents the underground stormwater detention and irrigation system.

A major component for the Huntington Center is the outdoor gathering plaza on the building’s northeast side. Designed as a backdrop to the Art Tatum Memorial Sculpture, the plaza accommodates office-dwellers during non-event times. In addition to an array of benches, a Water Wall was incorporated as an alternative seating option. It also separates the plaza from the service areas. The Water Wall, as well as the rain garden, is fed by a 22,000 gallon underground cistern that collects roof run-off. Any water that passes through unabsorbed is then returned to the cistern for re-disbursement.

On the opposite side of the arena, the Beer Garden is separated from the sidewalk through a series of vertical grates. These grates also lay the path for pedestrians to be led through a sculptural thicket of columnar fixtures, as light poles mingle with trees.

In addition to these elements, similar forms and materials can be found throughout the site to emphasize the integration of architectural and landscape architectural elements that create a seamless design.