Original design of Hilton

Gunnerclone

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Watching play in games and I've never noticed how weird Dayton's arena is. Started to Google pictures of why, and yep:
UDArena-Web-Listing-0dbfa84a5056a36_0dbfa9cd-5056-a36a-061c148f32e59691.jpg

Bigger Knapp Center.
 

CloneSt8

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More history: As I recall (can't find anything on this online) the original proposals for the Iowa State Center were for one large multi-use facility. Later, Mr. Fisher from Marshalltown brought in the architectural firm of Crites McConnell from Cedar Rapids who proposed the design at the top of this thread. Ray Crites had work with Fisher on a theater in Marshalltown. Crites McConnell then teamed with Brooks Borg Skiles architectural firm from Des Moines on the project.
 

danwbarrett

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There was a different design of Jack Trice stadium. I remember seeing the rendering on Cyclone Report a few years back. Anyone else see that design?
The first design of Cyclone Stadium had each balcony section as its own section with concrete walls on each side and each section separated from the next. That would probably have been too much weight for the berm. Well the current design settled anyway from frost getting into the east berm during the January 1974 “24-7 around-the-clock” moving of the soil to create the berm.
 

JBone84

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That's more engineering. Architects don't concern themselves with issues like that.
Incorrect. Envelope integrity is an architectural concern (snow loading is a Structural Engineering + Architectural concern). Mechanical Engineers are happy to carry the water from storm drains through the building. Civil Engineers take it from 5' outside the building to wherever it goes after that.
 

Nor'MidWester

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Maybe I missed it but is there a drawing of what the original Iowa State Center master plan was? I'd be interested to see, from what I remember I think there was plans for a hotel and stuff
 

JP4CY

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Beernuts

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Before Wells Fargo was built there was a plan out there to fill in the inner concourse with suites/seating and turn the voms around so the balcony would dump into a widened outer concourse. That would have upped the capacity giving Hilton a chance to compete with WF when it opened. As it happened they shot it down and the advantages of a larger WF capacity and location relative to the population center doomed Hilton to losing all of their shows to WF. A lot of tours liked coming to Hilton because Hilton did shows really well with good crews and easy access, but the additional seats (and additional revenue) was too good to pass up.

Imagine Hilton with a few suites and 16,000 seats crammed into that same size bowl. It would take crazy to a whole new level.
Personally I don't really care for Wells Fargo in Des Moines. It has no personality and the distance of the seats on the ends to the court is awkward. Would rather watch a game in old Vets than Wells Fargo.
 

2122

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It's amazing to see this stuff 55 years ago and then just 5 years ago a contractor failed multiple times to build bridge piers off of I35.
Yup. Glad it is called a coliseum. Like the 2,000 year old Colosseum in Rome. Both pretty incredible.


Can you imagine what it'd have been like to be at the incredible, packed Colosseum for 'opening day'....
 
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stateofmind

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Oh yeah, I think you're right, it was the scoreboard.
I think it was the 90s when the ceiling tile did fall in the seats. Luckily not during a game. That place is dangerous. I toured it around that time and was amazed it seats 1000s more than Hilton.
Before Wells Fargo was built there was a plan out there to fill in the inner concourse with suites/seating and turn the voms around so the balcony would dump into a widened outer concourse. That would have upped the capacity giving Hilton a chance to compete with WF when it opened. As it happened they shot it down and the advantages of a larger WF capacity and location relative to the population center doomed Hilton to losing all of their shows to WF. A lot of tours liked coming to Hilton because Hilton did shows really well with good crews and easy access, but the additional seats (and additional revenue) was too good to pass up.

Imagine Hilton with a few suites and 16,000 seats crammed into that same size bowl. It would take crazy to a whole new level.
Like you know anything about facilities management. ;)

BTW, wasn't the rumor that the bathrooms weren't in the original design and why they are boxes on the outside?
 

CyLyte2

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Personally I don't really care for Wells Fargo in Des Moines. It has no personality and the distance of the seats on the ends to the court is awkward. Would rather watch a game in old Vets than Wells Fargo.
That’s for sure. Wells Fargo is about as blah as they get. It’s basically the generic stadium from a video game.
 

GoldCy

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Incorrect. Envelope integrity is an architectural concern (snow loading is a Structural Engineering + Architectural concern). Mechanical Engineers are happy to carry the water from storm drains through the building. Civil Engineers take it from 5' outside the building to wherever it goes after that.
Back in that day architects had engineering degrees as well and weren't strictly designers like they are now. There are so many conflicts between disciplines in the design process now that the addendums outweigh the original plans and there are still basic conflicts. The design tools that exist today were unimaginable back then but the products were better.
IMO ISU made a mistake dropping the engineering program.
 

VeloClone

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Back in that day architects had engineering degrees as well and weren't strictly designers like they are now. There are so many conflicts between disciplines in the design process now that the addendums outweigh the original plans and there are still basic conflicts. The design tools that exist today were unimaginable back then but the products were better.
IMO ISU made a mistake dropping the engineering program.
What?!?
 
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CloneSt8

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Yep...huh? I agree. No engineering program as be dropped to my knowledge.

Now before 1978 when the Design College was formed, the architecture department was part of the College of Engineering. And by the way in 2019 the architecture department was ranked 22 out of 115 programs nationwide. So it is doing okay.
 

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