WORLD ARCHITECTURE / BIG ARCHITECT FOR OAKLAND’S NEW BALLPARK

As the architecture firm of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) continues to gather input from public officials, fans, and community members, the proposed design of Oakland A’s new ballpark on the Oakland waterfront continues to evolve. Images courtesy of BIG.

Maybe by 2023, the Oakland A’s, one of California’s five major league baseball teams, will usher in a brand new 35,000ish-seat stadium near touristy Jack London Square.  Plenty of detail still needs to be ironed out before the land under outdated wharf area known as Howard Terminal can be transformed.  As for now, nothing is final but what have is a lots of sports talk and great looking renderings from the incumbent architecture project: Denmark’s Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG Architects).  

Howard Terminal, 1936

The dream for the team and Oakland politicos is to bring retail and housing activity to a worn-out collection of wharves.

But right now bureaucratic loops exist.  Just to name two: how toxic is the project site?  How to get citizens safely to the new venues via public transportation.

So far, one BIG idea is to provide access to the new venue by building a Gondola lift. The aerial transport would take fans from near the Oakland Convention Center/12th Street BART station to Water Street at Jack London Square.  From there it’s easy access to the new arena.

In the meantime, BIG and the Oakland A’s will now continue to work closely with the local community to further refine and improve the design.

Proposed (above), Existing (below)

BIG is well known in international circles for incorporating green elements (rooftop greenery) into its projects.  The proposed A’s new stadium will have a ring of park elements above the seating area.