UPDATE (9/25/14): This post previously named Snøhetta as the architect of the Warriors arena. The Golden State Warriors wish to clarify that the lead architect is Manica Architects. Snøhetta's title on the project is senior design adviser. The story has been updated to reflect this.
Drawings of the proposed 18,000-seat Golden State Warriors arena in Mission Bay have come out; the design team includes lead architect Manica Architects along with Snøhetta, the international starchiteture firm responsible for the arena design for the Piers 30-32 site (abandoned due to overwhelming opposition from nearby residents) and the current 12-acre site in Mission Bay, which the Warriors purchased from Salesforce back in April. We're an optimistic crowd, meaning we're hopeful that, once rendered, the Mission Bay drawings will amaze and inspire. For now we're left feeling pretty underwhelmed by what we see above. To quote one Curbed commenter, the Mission Bay design is "kind of like looking down at a toilet bowl." You know what they say about first impressions.
The arena is surrounded by two 160-foot office buildings fronting Third Street, and also includes between 55,000 and 90,000 square feet of retail. Though 500,000 square feet of open space are part of the program, the plans so far don't look as pedestrian-friendly as the Piers 30-32 proposal (RIP), and access to the site seems pretty hemmed in by the office towers and that gate house. Here's to hoping that the street-level design invites pedestrians in instead of turning them away looming over them like a giant unfriendly toilet bowl. Now, if everything goes according to plan—which it rarely does—the Warriors arena will be ready for the 2018-19 NBA season.
· Rendering Reveal of New Scaled-Down Warriors Arena Redesign [Curbed SF]
· Warriors Add High-Rises, Draft Snøhetta for Arena Do-Over [Curbed SF]
· Warriors Unveil Plans For Massive Arena at Mission Bay [Curbed SF]
· Warriors Ditch Plan to Build Arena on Piers 30-32, Opt for Mission Bay Site Instead [Curbed SF]
· An Overview of Salesforce's Historic San Francisco Lease [Curbed SF]
· Warriors shift arena plans to Mission Bay [SFGate]
· Revised Renderings Released for Proposed Warriors Waterfront Arena [Curbed SF]
· Petition Started to Oppose Warriors Waterfront Arena [Curbed SF]
· Welcome Home, San Francisco Warriors [Curbed SF]
· Design Drawings Out For New Warriors Arena At Mission Bay, And It Looks Like A Toilet [SFist]
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