The Saga of Barclays Facade Fabrication
The behind-the-scenes story of how the corten facade for Barclays Center almost didn’t happen. When the original facade fabricator went out of business mid-project, Dissimilar stepped in to complete the project — and kept the demanding schedule on track.
DMD Editor | Dissimilar Metal Design
Article Updated July 31, 2025
Barclays Center in Brooklyn is renowned for its striking weathered steel facade: a rust-colored lattice wrapping the arena’s curved form. This unique exterior includes 12,000 individually shaped, pre-weathered steel panels that create the building’s iconic look.
However, achieving this facade was not straightforward.
The project faced a major setback when the original steel fabricator (ASI Ltd) went defunct mid-construction, threatening to derail the arena’s opening.
What happened next was a concerted effort. Dissimilar Metal Design was brought in to salvage and complete the complex facade in record time.
This post details the full story: from the facade’s design concept and early fabrication, through the crisis of the fabricator’s collapse, to the innovative strategies Dissimilar and others employed to finish the job.
Barclays Center’s use of Weathering Steel
Architecturally, the weathering steel skin was conceived as both an iconic gesture and a contextual response. SHoP Architects chose weathered steel (COR-TEN alloy) for its earthy color and texture to mimic the brickwork of Brooklyn’s historic brownstones, helping “break the mass” of the large arena into a scale that relates to the neighborhood.
The facade is arranged in bands of alternating steel and glass; the curving metal latticework produces a dynamic, textured surface. Unlike a painted facade, the steel’s russet patina is the intended final finish. It forms a protective rust layer that continually responds to weather and daylight.
This gives the building a living quality and a rugged urban character. Importantly, the weathering steel is highly durable and never needs painting, a practical benefit for a public arena.
Barclays Center was one of the first major Brooklyn buildings to use corten steel so extensively, and after critics praised its “tortoise shell” rusted cladding, the material saw wider adoption in local, national and international projects. The facade’s signature feature is the sweeping entrance oculus canopy: a 30-foot-high cantilevered ring that extends 85 feet over the plaza, with a giant oval opening that frames the sky and houses an LED display inside.
A tale of bankruptcy: ASI Limited
Translating this complex facade from concept to reality was a massive engineering task entrusted to ASI Limited, a specialized steel and curtain wall fabricator based in Whitestown, Indiana.
ASI was contracted as the facade consultant and fabricator to provide 219,000 square feet of total building façade and enclosure. This included a custom unitized curtain wall and the exterior weathering steel screen.
In practice, this meant designing, fabricating, and pre-weathering 12,000 unique steel panels and assembling them into hundreds of large sections (called “mega-panels”) that could be hung on the building’s structure. Each megapanel, weighing on the order of 7,000–7,300 pounds, included multiple steel pieces plus backing frame and insulation or glass as needed.
To achieve the desired rust finish uniformly, ASI built a custom weathering facility at its Indiana plant.
In 2011, the company installed a 2,500-foot-long conveyor system to accelerate the steel panels’ aging process. Panels were hung on this line and run through an automated cycle of wetting and drying up to 30 times per day over about three to four months, until they developed the correct deep brown patina. This controlled “pre-rusting” aimed to get much of the rust runoff to occur in the factory instead of on the street.
By mid-2011, ASI had begun fabrication in earnest. The first batches of finished panels were shipped to Brooklyn, and by June 2011 the initial megapanels arrived on site. The facade work, including a blast-resistant glass curtain wall behind the steel panels, was a major undertaking (originally budgeted around $32–39 million) and was scheduled to be completed by spring 2012.
By late 2011, the weathered steel skin was partially in place. Bands of the rusted lattice had been installed at street level and the lower bowl, and work was progressing upward. The distinctive facade was taking shape.
Behind the scenes, however, trouble was brewing.
Collapse of the Original Fabricator (ASI Limited)
In a major setback, ASI Limited abruptly ceased operations in late December 2011, before completing the Barclays Center job. Just after Christmas 2011, ASI’s owners informed their approximately 150–250 employees that the company was “no longer profitable and [was] winding down the business,” effectively immediately.
The root causes of ASI’s collapse were only partially revealed. Company officials indicated that ASI had simply become unprofitable and was reviewing its financial viability. It’s likely that a combination of factors — possibly cash-flow problems, cost overruns, or the strain of scaling up a new facility for an unprecedented project — contributed to the failure. (ASI had handled other high-profile jobs like Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium and the NYC Javits Center facade, so its sudden closure came as a surprise to local officials.)
Regardless of cause, the immediate impact was clear: Barclays Center lost its facade builder at a critical stage, forcing the stakeholders to scramble for a solution.
This unexpected shutdown left the Barclays facade in limbo. At the time, only about 25% of the steel panels had been fabricated and delivered to the site. A substantial amount of cladding work remained, including upper facade panels and the entire oculus canopy structure that had yet to be assembled.
The news of ASI’s failure raised urgent questions. The facade was contractually due by May 2012 (ahead of a planned fall opening), and any extended disruption threatened that timeline. Equally concerning, ASI had been a key specialist in this highly customized work.
The steel panels were all unique and the fabrication process proprietary, so bringing in a new fabricator on short notice was a formidable challenge.
Developer Forest City Ratner and the project team faced a potential crisis.
Timeline Impact and Stakeholder Challenges
ASI’s shutdown created a ripple of challenges. First was the schedule risk. The arena’s opening date (set for late September 2012) was immovable due to scheduled events.
The facade needed to be finished well beforehand. With three-quarters of the panels still unfinished in January 2012, a lengthy delay in resourcing a new fabricator could have pushed the project past the deadline.
There were also financial and legal implications. Fortunately, as required on large projects, ASI’s work was bonded for the full amount of its subcontract (around $32 million). This performance bond gave the developer recourse to have the work completed by others without incurring additional cost, but it required engaging the bond surety and finding a qualified replacement team quickly.
For the construction team, the challenge was to keep other work on track while the facade issue was resolved. Meanwhile, architects and engineers (SHoP, Thornton Tomasetti, AECOM) had to be ready to onboard a new fabricator and transfer an immense amount of digital information (the 3D facade model, panel fabrication files, etc.) to them. The extensive BIM coordination done earlier would prove invaluable in this handover.
Early 2012 presented a perfect storm of schedule, technical, and coordination challenges for the Barclays Center team: they had a brilliant design in progress, but now lacked the means to finish it. The solution emerged through the project’s bonding mechanism and brought a new player into the fold.
Enter Dissimilar Metal Design (DMD) and FacadeTek
To rescue the facade, the project’s surety company stepped in and appointed a team to take over where ASI left off. Dissimilar Metal Design, a specialty metalwork firm, was brought on board for expertise with complex facades and patinated metal. In parallel, a new entity called FacadeTek was formed to fulfill the remaining fabrication and installation.
Dissimilar effectively became the key fabricator/consultant for the weathering steel portion following ASI’s default. (Industry publications later credited DMD as providing the “DMD Weathering Steel (Cor-Ten)” used on Barclays Center.)
Dissimilar had to mobilize rapidly in early 2012. ASI’s custom-built Indiana facility and rusting conveyor system were still available and could be reactivated. The surety’s completion team utilized that same Whitestown, IN plant to continue fabricating panels, rather than starting from scratch elsewhere.
Rather than devising a new methods, Dissimilar worked with the existing setup, bringing its Seattle-area-based team to Indiana. By keeping this process consistent, DMD ensured the new panels matched the earlier ones in patina and quality. The Indianapolis plant became a 24/7 operation to make up for lost time, if needed.
Despite the turmoil, the facade work ultimately lost only a few weeks on the schedule due to the swift action of the surety and replacement fabricator. By the end of January 2012, fabrication of remaining panels was ramping back up under DMD’s direction.
Dissimilar Approach to Salvaging the Facade
Dissimilar’s approach brought fresh eyes and a clean slate to the digital models, and the existing infrastructure.
At the outset, Dissimilar and the engineering team double-checked the inherited work and made adjustments (like substituting or closely monitoring certain fasteners) to ensure the facade met all specifications.
For example, an engineering report noted that some connector bolts used in the prefabricated panel assemblies were found to be under-strength. Further analysis confirmed these “weaker bolts” posed no safety risk once installed, so the facade remained safe.
Any steel panels or curtainwall elements that ASI had completed or started were inventoried and incorporated. Some panels had already been delivered to Brooklyn or were in storage nearby. This salvage effort prevented material waste and saved time.
Because the entire facade was digitally modeled (each panel’s geometry was defined in 3D), Dissimilar could pick up the model and CNC fabrication files from SHoP/ASI. DMD worked directly from the BIM models to fabricate panels and attachments with the required precision. This ensured the new fabricator’s output would fit the building’s already-installed support brackets and structural steel without issue.
Dissimilar’s team worked hand-in-hand with Hunt Construction and consultants to coordinate logistics. Regular megapanel shipments were sent by flatbed truck from Indiana to Brooklyn. Installation crews were ready to resume hanging panels by early 2012.
The project re-established a steady rhythm as panels were bolted onto pre-installed clips on the arena’s facade frame. Structural engineers had already added about 1,000 tons of additional steel framing to support the heavy facade during design. Thus the infrastructure was in place to continue mounting panels without modification.
The cantilevered canopy — installed in mid-2012 as the final piece of the facade — consists of curved steel panels on a radial frame. Dissimilar and the completion team fabricated and erected this complex element after the original fabricator’s collapse, allowing the arena’s signature entrance feature to be realized as designed.
By early-2012, the efforts of Dissimilar and the completion crew were clearly visible on site. The once-stalled steel skin was wrapping around the arena’s upper levels, and attention turned to the last, most dramatic piece: the oculus canopy.
In June 2012, workers began assembling the 135-foot by 80-foot steel canopy structure over the main entrance and the inner “halo” ring of panels around its opening. Dissimilar fabricated these curved canopy panels and supporting ribs, which were among the most complex elements of the project, and crews installed them high above the plaza.
By July 2012, the exterior was essentially complete. Impressively, the facade was finished in time for the arena’s on-schedule opening. DMD’s rescue operation ensured the Barclays Center opened in September 2012 fully clad in its intended weathering steel armor, averting what could have been an embarrassing delay or a drastically simplified facade workaround.
Construction Timeline of Key Events
- 2009: Frank Gehry’s original arena design (with a glass facade) is shelved due to cost; developer Forest City hires SHoP Architects to create a leaner design. SHoP conceives the weathered steel facade concept late 2009.
- Mid-2010: Barclays Center design is unveiled with its rust-colored steel lattice exterior. Ellerbe Becket/AECOM joins as architect-of-record; Hunt Construction Group is selected as general contractor. Facade bidding commences.
- March 2010 – Early 2011: Arena groundbreaking occurs in March 2010. By early 2011, structural steel erection is in full swing. Minor schedule slips in the panel weathering process are noted, and ASI adds shifts to catch up.
- June 2011: The first weathered steel megapanels arrive in Brooklyn. Installation of facade panels begins along Atlantic Avenue behind the construction fence, with panels also being placed on the high parapet/roofline. The distinctive rust hue of the panels is now visible, generating public curiosity.
- August 2011: Approximately 900+ megapanels (containing 12,000 steel pieces) are in production for the full facade.
- Late 2011: Steel framework for the oculus canopy is put in place on the plaza (awaiting panels). The facade is not yet complete on the Sixth Avenue side and upper elevations.
- December 2011: ASI Limited suddenly halts operations and pulls its crews from the site. No more panels are delivered after the holiday break. Forest City and Hunt activate contingency plans in response to the looming contractor default.
- January 3, 2012: News breaks that ASI Limited has gone out of business, throwing the facade completion into question. The remaining work is substantial. At least half to three-quarters of panels still need fabrication or installation. The project’s surety (bonding) company steps in and begins arrangements with a replacement firm. Within weeks, FacadeTek (completion contractor) and DMD (as facade fabricator/consultant) are formally engaged to take over. Work at the Indiana plant resumes under the new team by later in January 2012.
- February–April 2012: DMD accelerates fabrication of the remaining panels. Shipments to Brooklyn resume, and installation crews continue to hang panels on the building’s exterior frame. By spring, the weathering steel skin covers the majority of the arena’s circumference, except for some higher sections and the entrance canopy. The project management reports only minor schedule impact. Facade work is slightly behind but not so far to affect the overall opening date. Interior fit-out and other trades proceed concurrently, now in a mostly enclosed building.
- June 2012: The final major facade elements: the marquee canopy and oculus “halo” are underway. Workers begin bolting the large curved panels onto the canopy’s steel ribs, forming the signature oval opening above the plaza. An architect’s animation of the facade assembly is released, demonstrating the complex panel installation sequence and assuring observers that completion is imminent. By the end of June, the weathered steel cladding is essentially finished, giving the arena its complete exterior form.
- July 2012: With facade panels in place, the focus shifts to finishing touches. The 360-degree LED display inside the oculus is installed. The last glazing panels and seals on the curtain wall behind the lattice are completed. Any remaining panel alignment or adjustment is wrapped up. By this time, the building exterior looks exactly as intended: a continuous band of rusted steel weaving around the structure and under the canopy. The Barclays Center is “dry-in” (fully enclosed from weather) and ready for final inspections. A project report confirms the arena is on track to open the first week of September. (Notably, a new subway entrance next to the arena was slightly delayed to mid-August, but the arena itself would be ready.)
- September 2012: Barclays Center officially opens on September 28, 2012, with a series of concerts. The weathering steel facade, once in doubt, is now complete and aweing visitors. Architecture critics overwhelmingly praise the building’s design and weathering steel facade, which already appears as if it had been rusted for decades.
- Late 2012: After a few rainstorms, observers notice some orange streaks on sidewalks beneath the facade. This was anticipated due to installer adjustments in the field; the arena’s staff proceeds with scheduled power-wash cleanings of the pavement. As months go by, the corten steel’s protective patina stabilizes further and such rust “bleeding” diminishes. The facade has effectively been seasoned in advance by the intensive Indianapolis weathering, doing exactly what it was meant to do.
Completion & Legacy
Despite the mid-course crisis of a fabricator bankruptcy, the Barclays Center’s weathering steel facade was successfully delivered through ingenuity and swift action. Dissimilar played a pivotal role in this outcome, stepping in to salvage the complex facade with minimal delay. The fact that the arena opened on time in 2012, clad in its complete corten skin, is a testament to effective project recovery and collaboration under pressure.
Today, the Barclays Center’s rusty steel shell has become a beloved urban landmark. Its completion saga offers lessons in risk management for specialty construction and the value of performance bonds in protecting projects. The facade’s influence is evident in a trend of weathering steel popping up on new buildings in the area, validating SHoP’s once-controversial choice. In the end, what could have been a cautionary tale of an unfinished design instead stands as a success story: with the help of Dissimilar and others, Brooklyn got the distinctive arena facade it was promised: one that will continue to weather and tell its story for years to come.
Sources
- SHoP Architects: Barclays Center Project Page
- Atlantic Yards Report: Barclays Center’s Facade May Have Been Saved — Jan 3, 2012
- NetsDaily: Facade begins to Encircle Barclays — Aug 15, 2011
- ENR: “ASI Limited Shuts Down Indiana Operations” – Jan 2012
- ENR: Brooklyn Arena Wins Big Despite Many Challenges Nov 4, 2013
- Brownstoner: How Barclays Center Changed the Face of Brooklyn With Corten Steel Oct 10, 2015
- Architect Magazine – “Barclays Center by SHoP Architects” Nov 14, 2012
- Architectural Record – Barclays Center Dec 16, 2012