Hangzhou Sports Park – China

Great designs and awesome concepts are born every day and in all the corners of the world. So one would say that with a big population it’s impossible not to see new concepts and proposals. The park that you will see in the following images is the “baby” of two prestigious architecture bureaus and the main attraction of the park as you can see in the first picture we provided will be the stadium, which is in fact the biggest to be build in the next 10 years in China.

NBBJ with CCDI, have created the Hangzhou Sports Park: A vibrant, pedestrian-centric sports and recreation development located in the midst of Hangzhou’s new urban environment. Situated on the Qian Tang riverfront opposite of the new Central Business District, and encompassing a site of approximately 400,000 square meters, the sports park is seen as an opportunity for creating picturesque and sustainable public spaces that are often elusive in the newly constructed urbanism of China. This new place making will be accomplished while intelligently balancing the long-term commercial viability of the sports development.

The primary architectural element on the site is the 80,000-seat Main Stadium. The Olympic-sized facility will be the premier international sports venue for the city of Hangzhou, and is currently the largest stadium planned for construction in China for the next ten years.

[ via AD]

A stadium designed by the wonder folks over at UNStudio, especially one Ben van Berkel. He (they) won a limited competition to design a gigantic football stadium for the most successful football (soccer for you USA residents) team in the Chinese Super League: Dalian Shide FC! The design reflects vividly the breathtaking amalgamation of the ancient Chinese cuju football. A must peek.

First off (this is the first non-intro paragraph here in the post) let me say congratulations to Ben van Berkel and the entirety of UNStudio! I am sure it is an honor to be working on such a magnificent project.

The 38,500 m2 stadium will be built in the city of Dalian, on the southmost tip of Liaodong peninsula in Northeast China. The site contains not only the big field, but parking facilities below, two training fields (see them back there to the left), and a giant public concourse.

And of course, as promised, the entire thang is based on the ball, as it definitely always should be forever and ever amen:

According to Ben van Berkel, “The design of the Dalian Football Stadium is inspired by the classic Chinese football, which was made by layering coloured bamboo. For the stadium design we appropriated this effect to generate a double-layered roof structure. This structure operates as a double concourse enclosure, encircling the tribunes. Splits and openings in between broad bands of the lattice structure enable views from the outside in and from the inside out.”

Brilliant!

Designer: Ben van Berkel / UNStudio

via Yanko

The competition-winning design of the main stadium for the 17th Asian games in Incheon, in South Korea, illustrates a new level of sustainable design in stadia in Asia. The stadium will hold 70,000 people for the main event in 2014 and will reduce down to a single sided grandstand for 30,000 afterward as a People’s Park for the city of Incheon. The global architecture firm, Populous, formerly HOK Sport Venue Event, is designing Incheon stadium with local firm Heerim Architects and Planners.

Populous Senior Principal, Andrew James, said the key to the new stadium’s success, will be its operation in legacy mode.

“The stadium explores the successful marriage of temporary and permanent. The stadium design is based on an asymmetrical configuration with the main corporate and management facilities located on the permanent western side, creating efficiencies both in terms of construction and operations.  The Eastern side will be a lighter solution, the temporary modular seating structure will disappear after the games, and the stadium structure integrate into the local landscape.”

This is a truly innovative concept, since it brings something new. It brings two functions together. The stadium with the games, and the main corporate and management facilities. What really caught my eye, is the poetry that the plan has. It grows gently from the ground, and it has a smooth transition from the walking paths, the squares, and all the nature integration, to the main objective, the stadium. I find that really interesting and appealing, it looks so comforting, and natural, it almost seems like it’s supposed to be there.

Symbolism is important to Korean culture. Populous project architect, Daekwon Park said the traditional Buddhist ritual Seung Moo dances, provided the image that reflected perfectly the drama of Incheon stadium – flowing form and space around dynamic movement.

“In architecture, as in dance, dynamic movement creates form, but can also be recognized by the space voids created around its form. The yin and yang of complementary opposites within a greater whole are represented inside the form of the master plan of the stadium, and the left over space around that form, becomes the main access to the building.”

The access to the main facility is so natural, so fluid, that it looks organic, it’s physically impossible to get lost, or to miss the entrance.

“The Seung Moo dancer extends his arms, the stick he is holding is almost a continuation of the long sweeping sleeves of his robes. The main stadium roof likewise extends; at one end leading to the main plaza, beckoning people in; at the other merging with the landscape, creating a singular fluid movement.“

[View with PicLens]

via Bustler