Architect Critic Changes Tune on Barclays Center: It's "Rusty Cool"

Two years ago, just after SHoP architects released their renderings of Barclays Center, they were roundly condemned by New York Magazine's architect. Justin Davidson wrote of lead arena architect Gregg Pasquarelli, "Pasquarelli is letting his firm be used to gussy up a degraded project with architectural flimflam."  The review was hailed and republished by arena critics. Now, he's changed his tune.

Using the occasion of the latest SHoP renderings --of the arena towers-- to reassess its work, Davidson writes of Barclays now: "The structure is wrapped in a basket weave of weathered steel, giving it a rusty cool. A canopy whose inner rim will display scrolling video and digital signs reaches over the plaza. Is it a huge basketball hoop?" The arena, he writes, "has suddenly become a visible part of the cityscape."

• Why SHoP Architects Are Masters of Post-Boom Buildability - Justin Davidson - New York Magazine