Dare to be different
There is a glowing review today of the new Soldier’s Field in the New York Times [registration required].
The new stadium has had a fair amount of controversy. People do hate change, but it appears that they completely gutted the old stadium, I can see why people would be upset.
The idea that it looks like a UFO crash landed on an ancient ruin has some merit, but on the whole I think it looks interesting. It is certainly different, I’m getting really tired of the “retro” mall-parks. At least it is honest about being old and new. I hate it when people make something look old when it isn’t.
My attitude is this: if you’re going to renovate an old and classic design, what do you do? You basically have three options: make it look identical to the old one, make it completely different, or tear it down and start over. But you’re going to be hated no matter what, so it is a lose-lose.
The first is not an option. You can not go back to the past. Trying to extend without change isn’t possible. The latter, in short, sucks. It seems to me, the best bet is to create something new that incorporates the old.
That said, will it stand the test of time? I’m not sure, but I appreciate the risk.
For some background on the project a quick search revealed Solder Field.net, a nice summary from archidose.org, a discussion with some photos, a materials provider with photos, and an article about the construction which claims the process was almost “paperless”.
