by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision.”
—Muhammad Ali

The architecture of the new Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville by Beyer Blinder Belle pulls no design punches to reflect the humanism and ideals of the boxing champion who once called himself “The Greatest.”

The six-level, 96,000-square-foot Muhammad Ali Center, bordering the Ohio River in the downtown section of the city where Muhammad Ali was born, does more than celebrate Ali’s athletic skill and outspoken personality. Built also as an interactive cultural and educational institution, the Muhammad Ali Center shares and teaches Muhammad Ali’s beliefs in hope, understanding, and personal best, challenging the “greatness” of people through awareness and inspiration.

More than memorabilia
A controversial political figure in the 1960s, Muhammad Ali always had strong personal convictions. Since retiring, Ali, 63, has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors and education efforts around the globe, encouraging people to have goals and to respect and better understand one another. As an Ali museum was being discussed, it was Ali himself who said he wanted more than a museum, stating, "For many years I have dreamed of creating a place to share, teach, and inspire people to be their best and to pursue their dreams."

The $80 million Muhammad Ali Center opened last November and was founded by Ali and his wife Lonnie. The construction was funded by private donations, and the land donated by the City of Louisville. The Ali Center has 21,000 square feet of interactive exhibits, arranged around a skylighted, multilevel atrium space. There is also a 2,100-square-foot auditorium, two galleries totaling 4,100 square feet, an education center, theaters, distance-learning facilities, an archive and library, and 8,000 square feet of multipurpose event rooms on the top floor overlooking the Ohio River. A two-level, 40,000-square-foot outdoor plaza, also facing the Ohio River, will complete the project in the fall of 2006 and be adjacent to the Kentucky Center for the Arts.

Floats like a butterfly
New York City-based Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, LLP, was commissioned to create the Ali Center. Frederick Bland, FAIA, served as the principal in charge. “We worked closely with Ali Center President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Fox, who wanted the building to be impressive but not self-referential or grandiose. Muhammad and Lonnie Ali also felt that was the right thing to do. It was also important to have it open, inviting, and sending out clues to the world to come in. The man is a public man, so the center has to be a public world.”

Bland explains the building’s dual roles. “It certainly needs to interpret the life of Muhammad Ali, but in addition the building plays an important role in downtown Louisville,” he says. “It mediates the historic downtown with the Ohio River. The lower masonry of the building relates to the surrounding 19th-century buildings, while the upper portion frees itself of that context and reaches north to the ‘unknown’ to free itself from the context of the city, much like Ali, who set himself apart.”

The building uses natural light strategically to protect its exhibits. “The strategic placement of glass windows was critical,” says Bland. “We had to flood the areas where we could have natural light. But then, going back to the idea of inviting people in, wanted the glass to act as a beacon to send out artificial light at night.” Next was the “wrapper” on all four sides of the building—1 x 1 terra-cotta tiles in nine colors ranging from oranges to blues to cream. The tiles form abstract representations of well-known press images of “The Champ.” On the east-facing side, for example, the reflective exterior tiles depict Muhammad Ali boxing, such as doing his trademark “Ali shuffle.”

Visitors arriving from the north see an image of Muhammad Ali lighting the torch at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and from the west there is an image of his very identifiable face. Says Bland, “This geometrical collection of tiles at close range appears to be just an interesting but incoherent collection of tiles, causing people to perhaps ponder what the architect could have possibly had in mind. From further away, though, especially by car or river boat, the building tiles operate effectively as a billboard, becoming coherent and powerful images of Ali.” The tile design also evokes Ali’s boldness, humanitarianism, and approachability.

Sixteen hundred tons of steel were used in construction. Atop a two-story, elliptical lobby on the building’s south side sits a three-story cone made of aluminum panels with a copper hue, which represents the torch carried by Muhammad Ali at the Olympics. (Ali also was a gold medalist at the 1960 Olympics.) Within the torch is an elliptical staircase connecting the main exhibition floors. A curved skylight over the lobby at the base of the torch allows one to look upward into the torch from below. “The torch is a key part of the entry experience,” Bland points out. “We needed to enclose portions of the exhibit and decided to do it in a way that would evoke one of the many times Ali reinvented his career and his life.”

The butterfly roof recalls Ali’s famous quote about his boxing skills, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Your hands can't hit what your eyes can’t see.” It “lifts off” from a lower center ridge. The roof caps a glass-enclosed sixth floor where there are multipurpose event rooms. “The torch and roof analogy are subtle enough to fit in with an overall architectural vocabulary rather than a theme-architectural vocabulary,” explains Bland. “The butterfly also provides for bigger windows at the top of the building that allow for a great vista of the sky and river, as well as rooms with unique settings.”

Beyer Blinder Belle is also working to design a 40,000-square-foot, two-level plaza, with nationwide EDAW, Inc. When completed, this year, the plaza will expand the entrance and be connected by an area of amphitheater-style seating. The upper level is designed to be “a relaxing environment” with a water wall and quiet reflecting pool. The lower level will be “a more active gathering place” and feature a sculptural glass fountain. As water flows from the upper level through the amphitheater to the lower level, gaining speed and energy, it will symbolize, according to the center, “the cumulative force of Muhammad Ali’s influence, from the individuals he has touched to the world at large.”

Inside the ropes
The Ali Center has a lot in its corner. If people come simply to "see boxing stuff,” however, they could be disappointed. Instead, a focus on self-discovery and personal growth are the Ali Center’s primary jab.

The Center refers to a visitor experience as “nontraditional” since its main focus is not memorabilia. For example, visitors can go through theme-based pavilions, each using photos, film, music, and exhibits to showcase an Ali value he feels strongly about—six different Ali values in all: respect, dedication, confidence, conviction, giving, and spirituality. Each of the six “stations” is designed to tell viewers something about Ali and also themselves. A trip to the “spirituality” pavilion provides quotations from holy books of various religions and talks about Ali’s conversion to Islam, while the “confidence” pavilion showcases the turbulent 1960s, when Ali's beliefs on religion and civil rights, including his challenge of the Vietnam War, made him a lightning rod of public opinion. Visitors experience that decade, then have a chance to explore their own convictions.

Other exhibits include the “Walk with Ali” interactive program that allows visitors to identify their signature character strengths and receive “life coaching” tips from psychologists and Ali himself, through interactive displays; “Lighting the Way,” a theater with 16 torches activated by touch that allow a visitor to become part of the Ali torch ceremony (it is accompanied by a 12-minute video of Ali and others talking about the importance of conviction and caring); and the 55-foot-long “Hopes and Dreams Wall”—made from children's drawings—with 8,000 3x3-inch wooden tiles with messages by children from 140 countries. Puzzles accompanying the wall provide advice on breaking those big dreams into smaller goals.

“I think the exhibits are among the best I’ve ever seen for a place like this,” maintains Bland. “There’s an overall architectural consistency. It flows well, there is a nice color palette, it’s dense, and the subject matter is interesting. It’s definitely not a sports museum.”

Going the distance
But sports and artifact fans shouldn’t throw in the towel. Items on display include Ali boxing gear, such as gloves and robes; the torch he used to light the Olympic torch; and the jewel-studded robe bearing the inscription "The People's Choice," a gift from Elvis Presley. Multimedia exhibits include films and video highlights of 15 Ali fights, including matches against Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Joe Frazier, which climaxed with the grueling "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975; and broadcast interviews, particularly those with sportscaster Howard Cosell. And the “Training with Ali” exhibit, designed like Ali's training camp, has a regulation boxing ring with holographic images of Ali that jab and throw uppercuts to teach the rudiments of shadow boxing, the speed bag, and the heavy bag. The “camp” even has punching bags where visitors can measure their strength compared with Ali's. The library and archive contain Ali-related documents, including fight contracts, correspondence, speeches, books, tapes, and clippings.

There is also a 13-minute film entitled The Greatest, produced for the center and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, shown on a 20-foot boxing ring. Additional displays include those of Ali's writing and poetry, a photo gallery of Ali, and an art exhibit area featuring reproduction paintings and drawings of Ali.

The Muhammad Ali Center has a continuing campaign to raise $20 million more to establish an endowment to cover its operating costs. Four-hundred thousand annual visitors are predicted.

“A big part of making the center was that it be an active part of the city’s daily life,” Bland says. “I think the Muhammad Ali Center will be a vital part of the future of Louisville, and a key new generator of its downtown.”

Copyright 2006 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page