BOK arena looks like a roll of cheap duct tape.

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by Johnboy976

Um, the numerous outsiders (people who don't live in Tulsa) I know actually like the design. They think it is unique (in a VERY GOOD way).

Miamins liked theirs.

[grahambino]

would it make you feel better if it looked like expensive duct tape?

[Ibanez]

My parents were in town for the 4th and we of course went to watch the fireworks display at River Parks, which by the way they need someone else to be in charge of music since it was as usual a horrible selection.

Anyway, as we approached the arena, which they had never seen, both my parents in unison said "Oh my God that thing looks horrible!" Then went on and on about what an eyesore it was and how it didn't fit in with the history of downtown and how it really should have been an Art Deco design.

So not everyone from outside Oklahoma thinks it is beautiful.

[cannon_fodder]

Wow.  I haven't seen anyone have that reaction.  What were they so turned off by?  The BOk tower, Williams Tower, Bank of America, OneOK, Federal Building, City Hall (new or old), convention center, 1st Place tower, Petroleum Club, CitiGroup and a ton of other buildings downtown are not Art Deco.  Each of those were built in the style in vogue at the time and contribute to a unique downtown.

A nod to Art Deco would have been interesting.  Though I question the efficacy of such a move. The Streamline  design of the bus station would not scale very well and the more detailed Expo Pavilion would simply be too expensive to accomplish (especially considering the elements would have to run throughout to make the structure work, otherwise think Ford Center with terracotta stuck on the corners).  Certainly a structure like that would have been amazing, but the lack of Art Deco does not make it "horrible."

I guess I totally fail to grasp the criticism.  basically, it's different so it's bad?  Certainly the phrase "eye sore" has not ever come to my mind.  The old city hall, the Federal Building, perhaps our monolithic convention center... perhaps.  Then again, many people hated the WTC Towers, the Guggenheim, and the Sydney Opera house when they first opened...

[tshane250]

I have taken one out-of-state visitor to see the arena and she loved it.  Besides, architecture is totally subjective, so who really cares who likes it and dislikes it.  It's not like it's going anywhere.  

Anyway, I personally think Tulsa should be progressive with its architecture.  Why do we have to copy what is here.  The fathers of this city didn't try to emulate other cities and other architectural styles.  No, they chose the popular style of the day, which was Art Deco.  Just my two cents.

[perspicuity85]

The BOk Center is just a prime example of postmodern architecture, for which Cesar Pelli is famous.  It can be perceived as en vogue or pretentious, depending on how you look at it.  Architecture is really just art applied to functional human spaces, and as the saying goes, one man's art is another man's garbage.

[bmuscotty]

I like the way it looks. My wife hates it. If I remember correctly Pelli said something about it looking like a rose which it kinda does. I know the metalic exterior is blinding when the sun reflects off it just right. Driving into and inside the Convention Center parking garage going to Talons games between 6 and 6:30pm is fun.

[santalar]

"Come, come, Mr. Scott. Young minds, fresh ideas. Be tolerant!"

James T. Kirk's response to Engineer Scott's negative comment about the new U.S.S. Excelsior when first seen by the Enterprise crew in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984).

[citizen72]

Mark it down it will be one of the major design award winners.

[rwf]

I would very much like to know if the uneven look of the steel panels on the arena was planned as such, or if there is a major construction fault.

If the architectual plan was intended to refract light in an aesthetic manner, I can live with the structure.

If there was an engineering or construction problem, the city, BOK, and Tulsa county tax payers should be irrate.

[RecycleMichael]

You can clearly see the ribs of the building through the metal panels. I don't remember that in the drawings.

[Conan71]

The renderings I saw definitely did not resemble crumpled and straightened aluminum foil.  Maybe Pelli is a huge conspiracy nut and figured he'd protect anyone in there with one giant tinfoil cap.

Now this covering would have been appropriate for the arena at TU- Reynolds Wrap...

[breitee]

Check that "beautiful stainless steel" exterior after a few years of Oklahoma weather and gang grafitti tags. Yes, it will look lovely! By the way, the "modern" design was NOT what was presented in the original renderings that were used to con voters into approving Vision 2025. Those drawings showed a brick art deco type building. Just another screw job by our "leaders".

[Hoss]

quote:Originally posted by breitee

Check that "beautiful stainless steel" exterior after a few years of Oklahoma weather and gang grafitti tags. Yes, it will look lovely! By the way, the "modern" design was NOT what was presented in the original renderings that were used to con voters into approving Vision 2025. Those drawings showed a brick art deco type building. Just another screw job by our "leaders".

Nope, because there was never a rendering put forth before the vote.  The vote was in 2003, Pelli was chosen in 2004.  If you're going spew forth, then research a little.  Or is researching more difficult out west?

[xx(]

[citizen72]

quote:Originally posted by Hoss

quote:Originally posted by breitee

Check that "beautiful stainless steel" exterior after a few years of Oklahoma weather and gang grafitti tags. Yes, it will look lovely! By the way, the "modern" design was NOT what was presented in the original renderings that were used to con voters into approving Vision 2025. Those drawings showed a brick art deco type building. Just another screw job by our "leaders".

Nope, because there was never a rendering put forth before the vote.  The vote was in 2003, Pelli was chosen in 2004.  If you're going spew forth, then research a little.  Or is researching more difficult out west?

[xx(]

Agreed. As far as I can recall the image was put before us very early. It took no time for Pelli as he just sort of sketched something up on a napkin and that was it. But, lots of buildings have been designed in that fashion.