Finding New Life & Purpose for a Vacant Minor League Baseball Stadium

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FINDING NEW LIFE & PURPOSE FOR A VACANT MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM

by Nic Goldsmith, FAIA, LEED AP

Top: New covered outdoor music facility. Bottom: Existing abandoned minor league baseball stadium. The UN Climate roadmap outlines a 12% reduction in CO2 by 2030, warming the planet by only 1.5 degrees Celsius instead of the 2.7 degrees that we are now on track to hit by the end of this century. With 40% of global resources going to the built environment, controlling embodied carbon and operational reductions are paramount for the future of architecture and its impact on our planet. Completely replacing our existing infrastructure with new sustainable buildings would take a hundred years which we don’t have. Since we are now literally out of time, alternate approaches are required. One of a few strategies that are beneficial in resolving this dilemma is the employment of adaptive reuse as a design approach repurposing existing infrastructure. Sustainability in design is more affected by material selection than the spatial organization of a project. Whether using renewable mass timber or an ultralight membrane for enclosure, daylighting and acoustics, the materials we choose are a key element of environmental consciousness. Limiting new materials by adaptively reusing as many existing ones as possible is a design challenge that allows for creative and sustainable solutions, reinterpreting our existing building stock to minimize embodied carbon and provide us with new hybrid facilities. The Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater is a case study of such a design process. In 2017, the leaving the city with an empty facility and little prospect of reuse. A local developer, Howard Saffan in association with Live Nation and the City of Bridgeport, decided

to develop the empty ball field into a covered outdoor music facility for an underserved music performance market between the large cities of Boston and New York. FTL Design Engineering Studio was invited to join the project which included an in-house construction firm and a local architect, Mingolello and Associates. Our first sense was that the stadium was in relatively good shape having been built in the 90’s and that our goal should be to preserve as much as possible of the existing facility while augmenting it with a dramatic new enclosure. This required the design team to become forensic designers and engineers, examining the structure and foundations to determine where the strong points were located, where additional loads could be added and where new points could be created that would not interfere with the existing building. In addition, the existing tall bleachers required for sport sightlines would now have to be covered to become integrated into the existing stadium. One couldn’t span the old ball field with most materials such as concrete or glass, but lightweight tensile approaches were not only possible, but desirable with their minimal weight on the existing structures.

Lightweight tensile approaches were not only possible, but desirable with their minimal weight on the existing structures.

FTL developed four different design approaches and in discussions with the owner, decided that a frame structure made the most sense. Inserting this frame at the perimeter of the old ball field and locating the stage at second base gave the orchestra and bleacher seating the ability to accommodate the required 5,700 seats. The frame structure was in effect two different structures conjoined along a trussed gantry walkway circling 80 feet above grade. The first structure covering the ball field became a tensegrity roof with spans of one hundred and fifty feet using 7 ‘flying masts’ to give sufficient curvature for a membrane roof. The second structure integrated this central tensile structure with the existing stadium using framed steel trusses with a tensioned membrane acting as a skirt, flexible enough to incorporate the shorter lengths where needed and longer ones where it was appropriate. The skirt was then supported in the open areas with piers and tetrahedrons to keep the perimeter open on the sides for exiting. In addition, an iconic entry wayfinding element was developed to draw spectators through ticketing and screening into the performance facility. Using a structural membrane contains several advantages but also carries some challenges. The same fabric has to perform simultaneously in many different ways: structurally framed for

Roof Interior.

curvature to resist uplift and downward pressures, luminous to allow for volumetric lighting of the facility from the outside and inside and acoustically shaped to not create trapped sound pockets in the overall form. We specified a luminous PTFE coated glass fabric which is non-combustible (eliminating sprinklers) with a lifespan in excess of 30 years. The areas where the flying masts join the fabric, we specified ETFE foil skins to bring in more light. Between the two structures we employed a black mesh fabric for passive cooling. In addition large fans were located in the central space to circulate air in the summer months. This unique roof became a draw to both the audience and musicians. As Mr. Saffan describes it, “artists are blown away by the beauty of our venue, due in large part to our iconic roof.”

New seating was developed for the orchestra as well as the raised seating of the old stadium. The stage house was a simple truss frame with metal cladding which mimicked the curve of the fabric roof. Attached to the backstage was a substantial back of house which was new construction including loading docks, storage, dressing rooms, green rooms, lounge areas, offices and even an outdoor/indoor dining area for the musical ‘talent’. As a music venue it is considered a ‘boutique’ amphitheater with about 6,000 seats but because of its configuration, the interior space feels intimate. The exterior form which sits between Interstate I 95 and the Amtrak / Metro North rail lines has become an iconic element on the Bridgeport waterfront, many concerts are sold out and the facility provides a community service hosting graduations and special events when concerts are not booked. It is a new facility incorporating the ballpark tradition and amending it to reenergize downtown Bridgeport. As Howard Saffan aptly put it, “The finished product completely exceeds our expectations. The artistic element to the roof structure is just incredible. The venue serves as a beacon of development to the City of Bridgeport, representing the renaissance of the City. The majestic roof overlooking Interstate 95 lets all 1 million travelers per week know they are in Bridgeport Connecticut.” In essence, the adaptive reuse process created a complete architectural transformation of an abandoned facility which formerly charged $11 a seat to become a new state-of-the-art music venue able to charge $100 a seat. Reusing the existing infrastructure, foundations, seating tiers and adding a new enclosure, the upgraded facility brings value to the community, an increased tax base for the City and even attracts a company like Hartford Healthcare to become its sponsor. This recipe can be used in many urban and suburban areas as a sustainable renewal process to invigorate old infrastructure. l

Nic is the Founder and Principal of FTL Design Engineering Studio in New York, and former Chair of the Lightweight Structures Association. He has spent over 40 years pioneering lightweight technologies and teaching innovative construction and design principles. Prior to founding FTL, he was a designer for the Pritzker Prize Winner Frei Otto in Germany, known for the German Olympic Stadium. Nic’s firm explores lightness as a visual, physical and sustainable approach and has received numerous design awards including the Carlos Moseley Pavilion for the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit and the Sun Valley Pavilion in Idaho. He has designed exhibitions on solar energy for the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and has been featured in publications including an Architectural Monograph titled, FTL: Softness, Movement, Light and his new book, Mass to Membrane published by ORO Editions.