In a recently posted lecture at the University of Toronto school of architecture, Barclays Center design architect Gregg Pasquarelli talked about what he wanted the arena to look like as fans arrive for the first Nets game.

"We want to do a super black, super dark, very dramatic, kind of black box theater feeling in the arena. Even the bars will have a minimalist sort of element," said Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects. He also described what fans will see at the edge of the bowl: "cool boxes where bars pop in to the arena in certain spots" and the first view from the Transit Connection: "the only arena where before you come in, you can see into the bowl.

Pasquarelli also spoke about how the glass bands that encircle the arena will be of highly reflective to capture the sky during the day and offer transparency looking out from the bowl to the Brooklyn streetscape. All of it, he promised will make the arena akin to Grand Central Station, which he described as "not just a train station, it's a room for the city, it's a civic gesture."

• Bulthaup Lecture: Gregg Pasquarelli - Sep. 27, 2011 (Video @ 01:09:45) - University of Toronto