Personally I think once the "bowl" gets to a size the accommodates 60k all seated, there's no way on earth you can have a feeling of "intimacy"/fans being "on top of the pitch", no matter what you try.
If you look at Spurs ground, they did try. The stands are decently close to the pitch and they're not shallow or anything, plus the home end looks boss, but it's still a big cavernous bowl really - just like the Emirates - and the feedback I've seen about the atmosphere suggests exactly that: it's not intimidating at all. That said, a far bigger factor than design, to atmosphere, is the set of fans that fill the stadium and obviously Spurs have never been renowned for having a particularly intimidating crowd anyway, even at the old WHL.
The good thing about a smaller "bowl" like BMD is that you've got a far better chance of creating that "intimacy" effect. The fact that we could potentially increase capacity through more standing spectators, which would, you'd have thought, only improve atmosphere, is absolutely ideal.
For me, this entire project is as close to perfection as was humanly possible going into it.
You're right about the Nou Camp, Wembley etc. Terrible atmospheres.