RTKL ASSOCIATES INC. MALIBU SPEEDZONE * Dallas In the category of New Entertainment/Themed Centers, RTKL Associates Inc., Baltimore, was awarded the 1999 SADI for its design of Malibu SpeedZone in Dallas.
Malibu SpeedZone, an auto-racing themed center, has been described as "a shot of adrenaline in a Novocain world," which also describes RTKL's design of this would-be theme park. The Dallas location will serve as a prototype "kit of parts" to be adapted to sites throughout the country in the company's rollout program.
RTKL's entertainment division, ID8, created the initial concepts for the owner in a storybook format. The format was a literal illustrated story of a family's day at the park. The division worked closely with the owner and other consultants during the formulation of the park's overall image.
The racing experience appears in every aspect of the center. Racing patterns, colors and forms are combined in a series of gateways, shade structures and service buildings clustered around a central clubhouse. An identity was also created for the four high-tech race venues: Indy-style Grand Prix, Top Eliminator Dragster, Slick Trax bumper go-carts and a banked-turn Turbo Track.
In addition, a wayfinding and regulatory signage system was designed for the park, as was custom-patterned carpet featuring racing iconography.
The center's clubhouse is designed to resemble a race car, with customers passing through the front end of the car at the park-side entrance. The back end of the car forms the clubhouse's parking lot facade. That look is repeated inside the clubhouse, which has a game area, restaurant, kitchen and bar, private function rooms, retail/redemption areas, and an administration area.
A giant blurred race car mural, the park's signature image, circles the bar's upper wall. It appears again, billboard scale, on the building's exterior.
Authentic dragster, stock and Indy cars are suspended throughout the clubhouse's interior. RTKL worked with the owner to acquire the memorabilia from racetracks and racing organizations from across the country, thus lending a certain allure to the interior design.
AWARD RECIPIENT RTKL ASSOCIATES INC.
Baltimore
Lance K.Josal AIA (vice president, managing director); Jeffrey Gunning; Randy McGowan; Jerry Flemmons; Melissa Paul; Robin Dunn; Cherrie Goolsby
CLIENT: MALIBU SPEEDZONE
Product Manufacturers/Suppliers: HCB Contractors, Dallas (contractor); Starzer & Ritchie Inc., Atlanta (structural engineer); Southern Civil Engineers, Atlanta (civil engineer); HESM&A Consulting Engineers, Atlanta (MEP)