The Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan designed by Hamilton Anderson Associates is a new entertainment hub for the city and an outstanding example of hybrid architecture that fits harmoniously into the densely built-up urban fabric. It is also a model of sustainability thanks to a design approach that has focused on reducing its environmental footprint, and has been awarded LEED certification. No less importantly, it is also an outstanding example of successful design thanks to a meticulous choice of materials and surface coverings produced by leading brands. Opened in 2017, this multi-purpose arena is not only home to the Red Wings hockey team and the Detroit Pistons basketball team but is also an important events venue that has hosted a series of high-profile international music concerts as well as meetings, conferences and cultural events. And of course it is also a busy shopping mall, which from its main entrance on Chevrolet Plaza in the heart of District Detroit maintains a constant dialogue with the surrounding urban fabric.
To integrate such a large construction into a downtown area, Hamilton Anderson Associates opted for an unobtrusive design in which the large volume of the sports arena is concealed behind a screen of four-storey buildings. With its unique, unstructured layout, the arena consists of a single atrium surmounted by a glass roof that connects the main space to the surrounding shops and offices. Outside, a large plaza with a giant screen allows spectators to watch games and concerts, while more than half of the surrounding structures are multi-storey buildings housing luxury shops, restaurants and other commercial premises that keep the venue busy all year round.
The underground look of the Little Caesars Arena not only derives from an architectural design that deconstructs and reorganises functions according to a harmonious spatial hierarchy, but is also the result of a composite and harmonious array of materials including sheet metal, natural and reconstructed stone and exposed brick, and a colour palette of no fewer than sixteen colours that coordinate with the different wall textures of the façade elevations, defining its layout with clear references to early 20th-century American architecture built during the Motor City’s industrial expansion. The geometric and material rigour of the façades is mirrored in the elegant and functional interiors, where the distinctive touch of Italian design dominates the floors and walls. The chosen material is the Mark concrete-effect porcelain tile collection from Atlas Concorde in the colours Chrome and Graphite, whose distinctive blend of graphic elements inspired by stone, oxidised metals and wood creates a personal, expressive and clearly contemporary feel. Chosen in the Matt finish with a distinctive post-industrial look, the surfaces from the Mark collection reproduce concrete textures, combining the beauty of the untreated material with the highly varied shading and different graphic designs.
