by ELIOT BROWN, The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2014
The dome of Barclays Center is going green. Here a rendering of the project, which is still being designed.
Image: Shop Architects PC
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is slated to get a lot greener on the outside and possibly become a quieter neighbor in the process.
Barclays developer Forest City Ratner Cos. is planning to coat the arena’s giant dome with a 130,000-square-foot “green roof” composed of small plants and a soil-like cover, resurrecting an idea that was cut years ago in an effort to contain costs.
Forest City officials said the effort is being driven by the next development phase at the site, known as Atlantic Yards, which calls for 6,400 apartments to be built in 15 towers—three that would surround the arena. By swapping a sprawling white roof with an expanse of greenery, the apartments should become more marketable, the company believes.
“We wanted to do the amenity for the benefits to the community and the residents that this green roof will bring, rather than having that traditional arena roof,” said Linda Chiarelli, an executive vice president at Forest City.