re: A tribute to Tiger Stadium...best stadium in the SEC!

maybe it is maybe it isnt... but if it isnt a major reason is the "guts" of the existing stadium. that is alot of square footage that could be an amazing space. also, the restrooms many people must use are a very real problem. not because they are filthy (really, who cares) but because of the pedestrian traffic deadlock they create - both in and of themselves but also exacerbated by concession stand lines they intersect.

on a more subjective note: the style of the north endzone is the best in college football, not just the sec. the refurbishing of the roman colosseum facade with all new windows (and nice windows at that) and the addition of a nice gate at top archways (it used to be metal chain fence) all really makes it quite amazing. the style of the two upper decks on either side in my opinion are appropriate. some may argue the west upper is over-styled but in my view it is based on function (screens shading west facing glass from direct light) and its style doesnt try to imitate the style of the iconic north facade.

the new south upper, unfortunately, is a disaster in aesthetics in my humble opinion. it was a mistake to try and mimic the north facade. the thing that makes the north facade so damn nice is its simplicity in materials and proportions. the south side is overly busy, has terribly proportions, and the material (painted concrete? or some other kind of treatment over the concrete) reads very different than the raw concrete elsewhere around stadium. the circular windows centered above the arches are just terrible. not to mention, they really arent a common feature of renaissance italian architecture. it looks more like a circus tent to me. what you do see are circular reliefs centered BETWEEN arches (ex: look b/w columns at music building). but not directly above them. i also think the top row of arches cantilevers out too far from face of building below. so far it begins to look ridiculous - kind of like the top floor of the abandoned jimmy swaggart concrete frame (now a hotel). and the glass and mullion system used on the large vertical mass was poorly chosen in my opinion. a less black low-e coating with perhaps frit would have been more interesting and looked better. (i question the need for that ridiculous mass in the first place). another complain i have is what people are referring to as the "lego blocks" along the top (concession stands?). i understand there is a need to locate building program up there - but it was handled very much like an afterthought. there are better ways to put concessions stands and whatever else those are without them looking like extruded blocks of concrete masonry units. pretty pathetic, really.

tiger stadium is nice but the whole of its recent work really could have been better designed.