Archinect - News

Dirk Lohan proposes domed Soldier Field renovation as Bears new stadium talks take off

2024-05-06T13:01:00-04:00

A proposed redesign of Chicago’s soon-to-close Soldier Field stadium from architect Dirk Lohan gained some press recently after the Bears NFL franchise debuted Manica Architecture’s $4.7 billion design for its new lakefront home. Lohan is the architect of its modern 2003 renovation (in association with Wood & Zapata), a project that ultimately cost Soldier Field its landmark status. He says the design alternative is at once cheaper and more sustainable than the current proposal that’s been targeted by critics but still backed by team owners and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Image: Lohan Architecture via LinkedIn

The proposed plan calls for a lightweight domed roof to be constructed over the structure, with 20,000 new seats added underneath and upheld by cables connecting to four exterior columns. Lohan, who also designed the master plan for the surrounding Museum Campus, says it "remains] true to the values reflected in the Burnham and Bennett Plans and the Chicago Lakefront Ordinan...

Manica Architecture debuts new NFL stadium proposal for potential Kansas City Chiefs relocation

2024-05-01T17:17:00-04:00

Manica Architecture has released renderings related to a late bid to lure the Kansas City Chiefs NFL franchise across the state border to Wyandotte County, Kansas. The design has been made public for the first time a week after the firm’s plans for a new Bears lakefront stadium in Chicago were panned by critics.

Rendering courtesy Manica Architecture

The proposed new dome-enclosed stadium was presented to Kansas lawmakers this week as part of a pitch to bring its first-ever major American sports franchise to the Jayhawk state in addition to potentially hosting the NCAA Final Four and concert tours, according to architect David Manica's recent statements to local outlets.

Rendering courtesy Manica Architecture

The repeat Super Bowl champions released a separate proposal for an $800 million renovation in Kansas City led by Populous in February. Its neighbor Kauffman Field (home to the Royals MLB franchise) is also weighing the costs of renovating its classic midcentury design over buil...

Lee Bey reviews Chicago Bears' revised new lakefront stadium plans

2024-04-25T19:00:00-04:00

However, check out the stadium renderings accompanying this story. Look at how big that thing is. The size almost makes the Museum Campus buildings look like neo-classical LEGO blocks in comparison. Judging from the renderings, the stadium looks pretty good as far as professional sports facilities go. It’s the right building but the wrong spot.

Bey’s effective teardown includes a slideshow of Manica Architecture’s new renderings for the reported $2 billion stadium, which replaces a scrapped plan to relocate the team to suburban Arlington Heights from its hallowed Soldier Field home.

Bey said Mayor Brandon Johnson's team "stood by as a private entity took the lead and told how the public’s lakefront would be redeveloped." The stadium is expected to be built on a three-year timeline, with the completed design made ready in time to kick off the 2028 season.

The White Sox are also mulling an upgrade closer to the South Loop that could cost upwards of $9 billion.

Chicago Bears reverse suburban stadium plans, will remain at Soldier Field site under latest proposal

2024-03-13T11:49:00-04:00

On Monday morning, several Chicago news outlets reported that the Bears want to form a public-private partnership with the park district to build a stadium and renovate part of Chicago’s lakefront museum campus to add more public space. That would presumably include knocking down Soldier Field, which has the smallest seating capacity in the NFL, despite Chicago being the third-largest market.

The team still owns a 326-acre land plot in suburban Arlington Heights, where they first proposed a new Manica-led retractable roof design in March of 2022.

For now, the Bears' new Soldier Field proposal is expected to cost $2 billion. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said it was "a testament to Chicago’s economic vitality."

NBC Chicago reported that 80% of Chicagoans included in a recent survey would prefer an enclosed stadium at the Museum Campus, which would turn Soldier Field into a park space while retaining signature architectural elements such as its Doric colonnades.

Chicago's White Sox MLB franchise is also in the process of seeking public approvals for a new ballpark away from their traditional home on the Southside that would require a $9 billion investment.

Record-setting 3D printed memorial will light up Super Bowl LVIIl next weekend

2024-02-01T16:14:00-05:00

With the presentation of this month’s NFL Super Bowl LVIIl in Las Vegas, a specially-made design constituting the world’s tallest free-standing 3D printed structure will also be on display inside Allegiant Stadium courtesy of the Kansas City tandem MANICA Architecture and fabrication firm Dimensional Innovations (DI).

The special Al Davis Memorial Torch is made in tribute to the eccentric former Raiders owner, author of the phrase "Just Win Baby," and a favorite among NFL fans for many decades.

Over 50,000 work hours went into the project between 2019 and 2020. When it culminated at 93 feet, it featured 1,148 total aluminum panels robotically painted in silver and supported by 226 individual 3D printed carbon fiber blocks weighing approximately 350 pounds apiece.

Image: © Dimensional Innovations

Each metal component was machined on a five-axis router to an incredible tolerance (approximately the width of a human hair) before DI could take over the installation. The result was a po...

Inter Milan unveils San Siro stadium replacement proposal from Populous

2023-12-22T11:41:00-05:00

Inter Milan’s plans for its first new home away from San Siro are getting a little bit clearer after the Serie A club released a few preliminary renderings for a Populous-designed stadium in Rozzano.

The announcement was made this week and follows the city’s decision not to grant approvals to a 2021 proposal from the firm called "The Cathedral" that would have been built as a shared facility with AC Milan and surrounded by a new entertainment district at the site of the nearly 100-year-old stadium.

In the aftermath, both clubs are now pursuing separate venues. The new Inter stadium will have capacity for 70,000 fans with a year-round ‘sports town’ fan area situated outside among the landscaped open park spaces of the site, which offers an easy connection to the city center. A fan survey has now been introduced as the club and Populous continue along the design process. No official construction timelines have been proposed yet.

Rendering courtesy Inter Milan

Speaking on Instagram, the...

Tennessee Titans pick construction team for new Nashville NFL stadium

2023-08-23T13:47:00-04:00

NFL franchise Tennessee Titans has announced that Tennessee Builders Alliance (TBA) will serve as the Construction Manager at Risk on its new stadium project.

TBA consists of Nashville-based ICF Builders, Polk & Associates, Turner Construction Company, and AECOM Hunt. The team has more than 55 years of NFL stadium construction experience, with Turner and AECOM Hunt behind 17 of the 30 most recently completed NFL stadiums.

Renderings of the Titans’ proposed $1.2 billion, 60,000-seat stadium by Manica Architecture in collaboration with HASTINGS Architecture were revealed in October 2022. The structure will span 1.7 million square feet and sit along Nashville’s East Bank, on the east side of the current stadium. It will feature a circular ETFE translucent roof, exterior porches with panoramic views of the city, improved sightlines for spectators through a variety of seating experiences, and a 12,000-square-foot community space that is available year-round.

Previously on Archinect: T...

Populous' combined AC/Inter Milan 'Cathedral' proposal is likely out for San Siro

2023-08-10T11:15:00-04:00

This officially ends Inter and AC Milan's plans to tear down large swathes of the historic stadium and build a new 'Cathedral' home in the surrounding grounds, though the clubs had been planning for this rejection for some time. Inter and AC Milan are therefore pursuing other stadium options elsewhere, which will most likely see them separate after sharing a veritable footballing cauldron since 1947.

The Populous-designed plan was cast into doubt by the Regional Commission for the Cultural Heritage of Lombardy last week, ending an intriguing saga that saw opposition from locals concerned about the environmental impact of demolition and its commentary on the influence of foreign investment in European football. Their proposed stadium (dubbed “The Cathedral”) would have created a massive entertainment district at San Siro with considerations for the architectural heritage of Milan, including the iconic Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

Previously on Archinect: Populous tapped to lead design of new combined Inter & AC Milan stadium

Both teams have reached deals for separate stadiums in the city’s suburbs, with Populous still on board for the new Inter design and Manica behind AC's new San Donato home base, according to reporting last week in the Architects’ Journal.

Tennessee Titans reveal renderings for proposed new stadium design in Nashville

2022-10-26T15:45:00-04:00

The Tennessee Titans NFL franchise has shared renderings for its proposed new 60,000-seat stadium in Nashville from Manica Architecture.

The 1.7-million-square-foot design will feature a dome enclosure with a network of exterior public terrace “porches,” inspired by the city, that will “serve Nashville and Tennessee for generations,” according to Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill.

Per a team press announcement: “The stadium architecture is inspired by the city of Nashville and is planned to be complementary to the broader East Bank development plan led by the City. The design gave specific attention to multi-purpose function, in order to maximize the number and types of events that could take place in the building.”

Rendering courtesy Manica Architecture

Key design elements will reportedly include:

A circular-shaped, high-tech ETFE translucent roof
12,000-square-foot dedicated community and public events space
Improved sight lines for all spectators through diverse viewing experien...

The Chicago Bears unveil plans for an enclosed new suburban stadium

2022-09-09T12:09:00-04:00

The Chicago Bears generated keen interest from fans and non-fans alike Thursday for a presentation of plans for a new domed stadium and entertainment district in Arlington Heights. Team officials drew applause when they said the stadium would be enclosed, and that the team would not negotiate renovations at Soldier Field while pursuing the Arlington deal.

The Bears President Ted Phillips said the team would not seek any public funding except for critical infrastructure and that the new stadium would result in greater seating capacity than Soldier Field. He also shared that the team was uncertain as to whether the enclosure will be retractable or not but alluded to mechanical problems and costs as a potential deterrent.

Previously on Archinect: Chicago proposes three alternatives to the Bears' planned Soldier Field exodus

The retractable roof feature and multi-sport entertainment focus had previously been a part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's recent last-ditch counteroffer, though the team’s “singular focus” on the 326-acre site in Arlington Heights means more or less the Manica-led project is a done deal as soon as approval and the additional outside funding can be secured. As of now, the entire project (excluding the stadium portion) is expected to take around 10 years to complete.

The Chicago Bears are soldiering on from their iconic home with help from Manica Architecture

2022-03-18T11:56:00-04:00

The Chicago Bears have selected Manica Architecture to help with initial plans for their proposed NFL stadium at the site of Arlington International Racecourse in the city’s northwest suburbs, team officials confirmed. David Manica, owner of Kansas-City based Manica Architecture, said he could not comment on the project. Interviews were held in late January, industry sources said. Overall, Manica Architecture has been on a hot streak.

The 98-year-old Soldier Field in the South Loop, the Bears' home since 1971, is being abandoned and recast as a campus-type “cross-section of heavyweights in the city’s business and cultural spheres,” according to the Chicago Tribune. The franchise has been looking for a way out of the iconic Neoclassical delisted landmark since nearly the beginning of their tenure there, and will now look to decamp to a former horse racing site in the city’s northwest suburbs.

Kansas City-based Manica Architecture will reportedly look to its $2 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and HKS’ mixed-use So-Fi Stadium megadevelopment as models. The Bears now have to decide whether or not to break their current lease on Soldier Field, which would require paying the city a steep $84 million penalty should they choose to do so before it expires in 2033.

Manica and Moody Nolan team up for a renovation of Cleveland Guardians' Progressive Field

2022-03-16T14:30:00-04:00

Several Midwest practices are joining forces for a timely renovation project at Cleveland’s Progressive Field.

Kansas City-based Manica Architecture is now teaming up with Ohio’s own Moody Nolan for the multi-year project with additional help from Cleveland-based studios Van Auken Akins and Robert P. Madison International, who will cover the interior renovations and construction support respectively.

The renovation will include a reworking of the upper deck concourse and seating area behind home plate, the left-field Terrace Club, and the team’s clubhouse and front office areas. The erstwhile Jacobs Field was considered a forebearer for a new breed of well-integrated “destination” baseball stadiums when it opened in 1994.

Interior view of Progressive Field in 2019 while still branded under its former offensive moniker. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Erik Drost. (CC BY 2.0)

“We feel very fortunate to live in a community that is unified in maintaining momentum in Northeast Ohi...

1.8 million-square-foot MANICA-designed Allegiant Stadium completes construction

2020-08-10T15:16:00-04:00

Construction on the $1.97 billion, 1.8 million-square-foot stadium wrapped July 30, and the certificate was awarded the following day. Construction on the stadium was not slowed or shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

The stadium, designed by Kansas City-based firm MANICA Architecture, will be home to the Las Vegas Raiders and the University of Nevada. The project underwent a total of 31 months of construction and has recently received a Certificate of Occupancy, Construction Dive reports. A defining feature in the stadium's design is a large 3D-printed torch located at the north endzone. At 85 feet tall, it is reported to be the largest 3D-printed object in the world

Organic kale for posh LA football fans: Newly unveiled stadium design sports a farmers' market and VVIP parking

2015-08-18T13:45:00-04:00

David Manica, president of Manica Architecture, the firm designing the stadium, previously described the open-air venue as “like a luxury sports car” and “very aerodynamic.” A brief video released Monday to promote the project described the stadium as “designed to be an instant classic.” Narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland, it touted an on-site campus for the NFL that would “power every important league initiative for the next 50 years” as well as a farmers' market [...].

One must-have LA feature the Times article glanced over is the "VVIP In-Stadium Valet Parking for Premium Fans." After all, who wants to self-park their special-edition Lamborghini next to a stinking Porsche Boxster and then schlep their personally-trained buttocks all the way to the friggin' sky box?

James Dator at SBNation got the caption right: "HAHAHAHAHA! Look at all those poor people staring through the glass. They'll never own a car that nice, and they know it!"

What's your take, LA Archinectors? Will we be able to take the 101 to the 110 to the 405 soon to see a live NFL game?

Previously on Archinect: