Stadiums: The Latest Architecture and News

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Designs have been revealed of the latest, and most central soccer stadium being constructed for the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar. Designed by Qatari architect Ibrahim M Jaidah and design consultant Heerim, the Al Thumama Stadium will feature a woven-pattern exterior skin inspired by the traditional ‘gahfiya’ cap worn by Arab men.

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Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium has released a new video showing the structure’s unique aperture-style retractable roof closing for the very first time. Designed by 360 Architecture (now a part of HOK), the eight ETFE-clad roof “petals” slide along tracks on the stadium roof to come together at a central point, much like how a camera operates. When fully operational, the roof will be able to open and close in less than eight minutes.

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Few architectural typologies are more centered around the human experience than a sporting arena. The design of sports stadiums often feature notable architecture firms, such as Herzog & de Meuron’s design for Chelsea’s football stadium in London, and Kengo Kuma’s 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. Recently, renowned design practice HOK tackled stadium design using an obvious yet untapped resource in the design of rugby stadiums –rugby players themselves.

John Rhodes, a director of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice, met with legendary rugby players Jamie Roberts (Wales), Tim Visser (Scotland), James Horwill (Australia) and Danny Care (England) to capture their ideas, both as players and fans. The findings were collated into a video by HOK, which you can watch below.

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A large-scale masterplan for Feyenoord (or Feijenoord), a suburb-city of the Dutch city of Rotterdam, has been approved by Rotterdam City Council. The successful concept design from OMA, led by Partner David Gianotten, incorporates a historically-important football stadium—for the nationally significant Feyenoord football club—which "no longer fulfills modern demands." Aligned with the football club's "expanding ambitions" both in the Dutch and European football leagues, this proposal is the latest in a string of plans to expand, but the only one to have been accepted.

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British green energy company Ecotricity has revealed plans for a new Zaha Hadid Architects-designed green technology hub in Stroud, England. The project, known as the “Gateway to Stroud,” will consist of several greenhouse-like buildings and a wooden footbridge that will connect the campus to the future all-wood stadium for the Forest Green Rovers football club, also designed by ZHA and revealed late last year.

Planned as a center for local sports and sports science, the ECO park will provide state-of-the-art office space for environmentally-focused companies as well as public access to a wide range of health and leisure activities.

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The SOCKEEL + OLGGA consortium have won a competition to design the new Tribut Stadium in Dunkirk, France. The historic stadium, in a prominent location on a canal bank in central Dunkirk, will be transformed into a 5,000 seat stadium seeking to maximize inclusiveness and accessibility.

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HKS Architects has been selected to design a new Major League Baseball stadium for the Texas Rangers, to be built in Arlington, Texas. As part of a new multipurpose sports and entertainment venue, the stadium will feature a retractable roof for climate control and shelter during the hot Texan summers.

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Cox Architecture has been selected as the winners of an invited competition for the new North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, Australia, beating out finalist proposals from BVN Architecture, Hassell and Populous. With a roof design inspired by the native Pandanus tree, the new stadium will provide seating for 25,000 spectators as the new home to the National Rugby League’s North Queensland Cowboys.

OMA has released images of their masterplan for Feyenoord City, Rotterdam, after the plan was approved by city’s mayor and alderman. Developed for the Feyenoord football club, the project will consist of a redeveloped mixed-use district centered around a new 63,000 seat stadium for the team located along the Maas River.

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Zaha Hadid Architects has been announced as the winner of an international competition to design a new football stadium for the Forest Green Rovers in Stroud, UK. Following a seven month competition featuring over 50 entries from around the world, ZHA was selected over finalist Glenn Howells Architects for their all-wood proposal. When finished, the stadium will be the first in the world to be built entirely out of wood.

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ROSSETTI has unveiled their design for a proposed development in downtown Detroit on the site of a currently unfinished jail. The project features a new MLS stadium with 20,000-25,000 seats, a training facility, a retail area, a parking structure for more than 5,000 cars, and four towers programmed for a hotel and residential and office spaces.

At a press conference on Thursday, FC Barcelona presented the design of the new Camp Nou, a project led by Nikken Sekkei (Japan) with Joan Pascual i Ramon Ausió Arquitectes (Barcelona), who won the international competition in early March.

Alongside the team's players, the board of directors chaired by Josep Maria Bartomeu presented the model of the project, which will begin construction in mid-2017 to expand the stadium's capacity to 105,000 spectators. In addition, the organization published a series of videos about the project, including an explanation of how the expansion will take place without affecting a single football match.

BIG has revealed their concept for the Redskins new stadium complex. Complete with a moat, the semi-transparent, undulating structure was designed to redefine the American stadium. Rather than being (mostly) preserved for game-day, BIG envisions the stadium to be a year-round destination used for more than just football.

“The stadium is designed as much for the tailgating, like the pre-game, as for the game itself,” Bjarke Ingels said on 60 Minutes. “Tailgating literally becomes a picnic in a park. It can actually make the stadium a more lively destination throughout the year without ruining the turf for the football game.”

Japanese practice Nikken Sekkei, in collaboration with Joan Pascual-Ramon Ausió Arquitectes, has been chosen to design the new Camp Nou stadium for FC Barcelona, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. The winning team was chosen over three other finalists: HKS + COX + Batell i Roig Arquitectes; BIG + IDOM + BAAS Arquitectes; POPULOUS + Mias Arquitectes + RCR Arquitectes.

The new design intends to compliment the recently unveiled New Palau Blaugrana, FC Barcelona's main basketball arena that will be designed by HOK and TAC Arquitectes. All this is happening alongside the Espai Barça remodel that is expected to begin in 2017 and complete by 2021.

After an international design competition, sports venue specialists HOK and Barcelona-based TAC Arquitectes have been selected to design the new 10,000 seat arena for FC Barcelona, the New Palau Blaugrana. Replacing the old arena which was built in 1971, the building is estimated to open for the 2019-2020 FC Barcelona Lassa basketball season. The redevelopment of the Palau Blaugrana is part of a larger scheme by the football team to refresh their entire campus - including the famous Camp Nou stadium for which a shortlist including BIG, Populous and HKS was announced in September, with a winner expected to be announced in March. Read on for the architects' description of their Palau Blaugrana design.