By Raphael Guadalupe & Nancy Clayton
Creating a new state-of-of-the-art interactive museum requires all the teamwork, dedication and stamina of a winning basketball team. A squad of talented contributors, each with unique and complementary skills must be assembled. The work of each player must be supported and integrated into the whole. There must be a strategy to guide and focus the team – one specific enough to lead the team towards its goals but sufficiently flexible to allow it to respond to unanticipated challenges and obstacles. Along the way, the team must constantly re-evaluate its strategy, bring in new players, keep things moving and persevere. Finally, when all the pieces come together, the result is a cause for celebration.
The new Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is the result of just such a process and is a cause for celebration. In 1997, when the Hall of Fame and City of Springfield awarded the design of the complex to a joint venture team comprised of Gwathmey Siegel Associates Architects LLC; Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype, Inc.; and Scenic Technologies, it placed a tall order. The new Hall of Fame needed to be fully interactive and engaging for a broad international audience. The main spaces had to be flexible and conducive to a wide range of events and activities – from permanent exhibits to free shooting, from basketball clinics to award ceremonies and from skill challenges to formal occasions. Exhibits had to be kept current. Audiovisual and lighting systems must be exciting, but easy to maintain. The building itself would need to stand as a clear symbol of the pinnacle of achievement in basketball worldwide.
A team is formed
There were many key players. Gwathmey Siegel, as design architect, was responsible for the initial building design and worked with the exhibit team to integrate their design elements into the architecture. BH+A, the architect of record, carried the architectural development through bid documents to completion of construction. The exhibit designers, in conjunction with the Basketball Hall of Fame curatorial staff, were responsible for scripting, researching and designing the exhibition.
Lighting designers; writers; computer specialists; audiovisual producers; graphic designers; researchers; concept developers; fabricators; structural, mechanical, and civil engineers; landscape architects and many other specialists were brought in throughout the process. The City of Springfield and State of Massachusetts gave strong support to the new Basketball Hall of Fame as part of a large urban revitalization and riverfront development project. This 18-acre site between the Connecticut River and I-91 includes not only the new Hall of Fame, but also offices, retail space, restaurants, a visitor information center, a hotel, community center and an underground parking garage. The vision for a grand-scale museum and entertainment complex in Springfield was acknowledged as an important goal for the city's and the region's economy.
The concept is generated
From the onset, the Team set these goals for the new Basketball Hall of Fame:
- Revere the Enshrinees.
- Provide a unique, educational and enjoyable visitor experience for fans of all ages.
- Design a building that takes advantage of the prominent site to attract visitors.
- Use reliable high-end technology.
- Preserve the museum collection.
- Support local and regional community involvement.
Crucial to the overall design was the belief that the Hall of Fame enshrinees should be at the heart of the visitors' experience. From this important vision grew the idea of an "Honors Ring" suspended above the other galleries as an inspirational, ceremonial space dedicated to the people who have made the game what it is today. The team also decided that it was important to give the visitors an opportunity to shoot the ball themselves, since basketball is a sport played and loved by people of all ages from around the world. This led to the creation of Center Court at the heart of the main sphere. With the enshrinees at the top, everything else is arranged below as in a pyramid: galleries called The Game, The Players, The Media, The Coaches and The Teams engage visitors to learn about the history and vitality of basketball at all levels of the game. And finally, visitors reach the Center Court, with live clinics, skill challenges, shooting competitions and even a kids' shooting gallery with hoops positioned at multiple heights.
The Hall of Fame does not just tell individual stories about the sport, but expresses these stories as intertwined over a century. The Hall of Fame shows how people from around the world have become connected to the game, from high school through the professional ranks. The new Hall of Fame is geared to a diverse visitorship that will not only enjoy the experience, but also become informed, encouraged and inspired. The public spaces are designed to engage visitors as soon as they walk in the front door, with super-graphics and audio of "great calls." In the lobby, visitors can stand in athlete's footprints, watch videos of season highlights and travel through a world of basketball photos. There is a theater for basketball films, lectures, and educational programs. Retail space and a food court are included. And, all public spaces are accessible to everyone, not just ticket holders to the Hall of Fame.
The building is developed
"Our goal for the Basketball Hall of Fame complex was to create a bold iconographic composition of forms, which could be universally understood and appreciated," says Robert Siegel, Principal of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. "The sphere, which can be perceived as a globe, or basketball; the curvilinear form of the retail center, which recalls the trajectory of a shot, as well as a fieldhouse roof; and the tall, thin spire, are based on the language of geometry, which has worldly references, as well as having literal references to the sport of basketball. The composition forms a unique image, which in a short period of time will be indelibly linked to the Basketball Hall of Fame."
The design is geared to providing an immediate and unforgettable impression. It includes a 136-foot spire supporting a 13-foot illuminated basketball that can be seen for miles around, a 120-foot-high diameter containing a full-size basketball court; a vast curved roof over the museum, retail spaces, and a pedestrian bridge to Springfield's Riverfront Park.
At the heart is the spherical Center Court atrium, organized around a full-sized basketball court for actual shooting challenges, clinics and special events. Visitors glimpse the atrium while ascending in glass elevators up to the Honors Ring. The Honors Ring, the first stop in the museum experience, is suspended within the center, with multiple views down onto the court at the center, and galleries around the perimeter. Lighting concepts for the interior and exterior were critical. The exterior of the sphere has 850 individual points of lights, each with an LED fixture capable of changing to any color in the rainbow, and each linked to a computer address to allow the lighting effects to change for special events.
The spire is topped with a 13-foot diameter internally lit orange basketball that can be seen as visitors approach Springfield. Robert Siegel of Gwathmey Siegel describes how the exterior lighting systems render the forms at night. "The relationships between the orange sphere at the top of spire (moon-Iike), and the primary sphere (earth- like), combined with the swooping roof form, when viewed from I-91 at varied distances and speeds of travel will be very memorable."
The interior of the sphere has programmable lighting, using the same LED technology, to allow for dynamic and colorful special effects during short programmed shows on Center Court.
The exhibits become defined
The key goal for the Exhibit Team was to weave the stories and accomplishments of basketball men and women, professional, college, amateur, American and foreign players and coaches into a single cohesive narrative. Interactive exhibits were developed to best communicate a skill, a strategy, a play, and to enhance the visitors' enjoyment and knowledge of the game.
There was extensive consultations with the Basketball Hall of Fame staff, curators, researchers, writers and basketball professionals in order to refine the exhibits, content, stories and images for each gallery. The museum experience begins in the lobby, with glimpses into Center Court. On the elevator ride to the top, visitors listen to a welcome message by well-known sportscasters.
In the Honors Ring, visitors learn how enshrinees are elected and read the biographies of all the greats of the game. Fans interact at display tables highlighting their favorite personalities. A historic time line puts the game of basketball into the greater context of world events. The Game gallery is partitioned into three smaller galleries: Pioneer Years (1891 to the late 1930s), Formative Years (mid-1930s to the late 1960s) and Basketball Comes of Age (mid-1960s to the present). It contains exhibits depicting the "birth" of basketball, and the evolution of the rules and equipment, including the first 24-second clock.
The Players gallery begins with a video of home movies showing the early love of the game. Many "interactives" allow visitors to compare their skills to those of the great guards, forwards and centers in a gymnasium environment. Display cases depict "Trading Cards" of the greatest players and other player memorabilia. Hands-on exhibits let visitors test their vertical leap, rebounding and reaction time. Databases provide in-depth information on numerous players. A mini-theater puts visitors in the middle of a game with up-close action.
The Media gallery shows the evolution of media coverage starting from its beginning in print to today's Internet. In the Press Box gallery, visitors can hear themselves as sports announcers or see real behind-the-scenes action of a professional game. The Coaches gallery is designed to look like a school locker room. Visitors learn about coaches and how they develop their strategies. "Interactives" test visitors' skills at coaching and calling plays.
The Teams gallery promotes the theme of teamwork and "forging a winning team." In the Victory Theater, visitors see highlights of great victories and sacrifices and are surrounded by the great dynasty teams. A Globalization exhibit focuses on the worldwide growth of the sport. And, finally, the Video Archives exhibit provides a library of basketball films.
A multimedia program called The Moment is presented in the Center Court. Viewable from all levels of the museum, this show uses videos, the Enshrinee portraits in the dome, a countdown clock, programmable LED lighting in the dome, moving light projections, audio sound system, and a 50-foot LED motion sign.
The building and exhibits take shape
All portions of the project were bid through a public process. Peabody Construction was awarded the general construction contract for the Hall of Fame, sitework, and pedestrian bridge. Design Craftsmen was selected to fabricate and install the Exhibitry. The NBA and NBA Entertainment were awarded the audiovisual hardware production contracts. Cornelius was hired to fabricate and install interior and exterior signage. These firms have worked together to build a unified project. During the construction administration phase, detailed drawings and material samples were approved. Mockups were prepared to visualize complicated components.
Fabrication, graphics, videos, interactives and woodwork were all reviewed. There were weekly meetings with contractors and subcontractors.
There was tireless review of documentation and content to ensure the accuracy of all scripts and photo selections. "There was a huge amount of coordination on the base building, pedestrian bridge, and spire and site. It was easy to make a mistake that could become catastrophic. There was no room for error. We had to employ new ways to perform common construction tasks," says Steve Dionne, Project Superintendent for Peabody Construction.
Design Craftsmen built the exhibits and handled the coordination and installation of all exhibits, lighting, audiovisual hardware and software, all lighting programming, and the installation of all the graphics, museum artifacts and displays. Eight racks of computer controlled digital equipment were installed in the AV control room. The six-ton scoreboard installation was especially complex, and involved numerous professionals to coordinate the sequence. Separately on-site, a major hospitality chain was engaged to develop the 350-room hotel site, and an international restaurant company also came on board.
The future is now
The creation of the new Basketball Hall of Fame was a very exciting and rewarding project involving the cooperation, professionalism and talents of numerous companies and hundreds of people. We are pleased with the result, and look forward to thousands of visitors each year enjoying and learning at the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Congratulations go especially to the new Enshrinee class: Magic Johnson, Larry Brown, Lute Olson, Kay Vow, The Harlem Globetrotters and the late Drazen Petrovic, and to all those teams, players, coaches, fans and supporters whose contributions are celebrated in the new Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Raphael Guadalupe, was the Project Director for Scenic Technologies. He directed the exhibition design and production teams. Nancy Clayton was the Senior Associate in charge of the Basketball Hall of Fame for Gwathmey Siegel and Associates Architects.
04/26/2008
04/10/2008
04/03/2008
