Inspired by the outdoor fiestas and culture of South Texas, the scale of this 18,5700-seat sports arena for the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs was reduced through a series of tall porches, generous loggias and broad overhangs, as well as by recessing it into the ground. Circulation was pulled to the outside, culminating in corner stairs wrapped in perforated-metal, sun-screened silos. Between the arena and the adjacent coliseum, cables holding sheet-metal panels are strung as a sombrilla to shade the backyard plaza, borrowing the idea from local cattle yards.

in collaboration with Ellerbe Becket and Kell Muñoz Architects