Rio 2016 Olympics

Brasília is the only city dating from the 20th century that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its range of public buildings, the “ideal city” built between 1956 and 1960 is one of the icons of the Moderne style. In this context gmp Architects, in cooperation with schlaich bergermann und partner (sbp), produced the design of the Brasília national stadium for Castro Mello Arquitetos (São Paulo). It was constructed in the place of the former Mané Garrincha stadium. Eduardo Castro Mello was responsible for the design of the 72,000-seat bowl; gmp and sbp produced the elevations of the esplanade as a characteristic “forest of columns”, and a double-skin suspension roof.

The Arena Fonte Nova is a great example for multifunctional use of a stadium. The stadium is not only an exceptional venue for football matches and the upcoming World Cup 2014, but also offers an amazing space in the southern opening for various events, such as concerts and parties.

The choice for Brazil as host country of World Cup 2014, and the automatic assurance that Maracanã Stadium would be the “stage” of the final match (even before the official definition), were the departing points of the need for preparing a project that modernized and preserved the renowned stadium. The differential was the proposal of making the arena as modern and efficient as the best ones in the world, associated to a brand built during more than 60 years of history and symbolism.

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A STADIUM TO THE CITY

The venues of the Rio2007 Pan-American Games were grouped into four great distinct regions of the city: Barra, ‘Sugar-Loaf', Maracanã and Deodoro. This strategy was intended to spread and distribute the direct and indirect benefits of this major international event among all inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, through the construction of new venues and infrastructure, as well as improvements of the existing ones.