Photo by Evan Joseph Studio

The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex’s first open-air music venue had to be completed by an immovable deadline to accommodate concerts Live Nation had scheduled well ahead of project completion. The $46-million Coca-Cola Amphitheater sits on a previously underutilized site as a cornerstone for redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood.

Instead of working against the site’s sloping hill, the project team chose to embrace the natural landscape. The slope’s orientation led to placing the seats on the hillside, giving the amphitheater a natural rise, an elevated view without much lift and a bowl angled to take in the Birmingham skyline and airport. Patrons approaching from the south see it as a monumental rising structure.