Image Nigel Young/Foster + Partners, PA Photos

As a new generation of super-stadiums is erected around Europe, David Mattin investigates what it is about these contemporary cathedrals for sport that commands our rapt respect

When Norman Foster sat down to design the new Wembley Stadium in London, he faced a conundrum. Firstly, this state-of-theart venue needed to provide covered seating. Secondly, sufficient air and light had to be available to the grass, and that meant a roof that retracted to the south to ensure that the pitch remained out of the shadows in sunny conditions. Oh, and forget about putting any supporting columns inside the stadium because these would obstruct the views.

The solution Lord Foster devised – in combination with HOK Sport, an architecture firm that specialises in stadiums – perfectly exemplifies the dual role of these vast, strange and magnificent buildings. Foster’s Arch, the 133m, shining white semi-circle that towers over Wembley and now dominates the north-west London skyline, is on the one hand a brilliant technical solution and on the other an iconic statement of cultural intent.

We might think of stadiums as prosaic structures, but it’s not unusual for their architects to refer to them as modern-day cathedrals: “If sport is the world’s first global culture,” says Rod Sheard, head of stadium design at HOK Sport, “then the stadium must be our church.” What’s more, a new generation of European super-stadiums is now transforming our perception of these buildings. So just what, exactly, makes a contemporary European stadium? And why do these places mean so much to us?

“Wembley is the cathedral of football, the capital,” said Pelé of the old ground, built in 1924. But the contemporary replacement dazzles with its virtuosity. The new Wembley is vast, standing twice as high as its predecessor. FA Cup winners used to climb 39 steps to the practical function and fine art – like London’s Tate Modern gallery. Their first involvement in a stadium project came in 2001 in their native Switzerland, with Basel’s St Jakob Park. Here, Herzog & de Meuron were drafted in as architects to create an ‘experience park’ that combined a 40,000-capacity stadium with a shopping mall, three restaurants, a multiplex cinema and a fitness centre.

“The rise of the stadium has tapped into the universalisation of what was once considered low culture,” says Matthjis Bouw, architect and author of The Stadium: Architecture of Mass Sport. “Once football, pop music and blockbuster films were only for a certain kind of person. Now we all go to football matches or U2 concerts or Spider-Man films. Because of this, stadiums have found a new audience and you have the rise of a new generation of multipurpose stadiums that act as catalysts for urban revival. This is what has happened in Basel.”

For their next stadium, however, Herzog & de Meuron aimed far higher. The Allianz Arena in Munich, made instantly famous when it hosted the opening game of the 2006 World Cup, is Europe’s most striking stadium. Firstly, the fans are unnervingly close to the pitch, with only 7m between the front row and the turf. Moreover, the 38,000m² roof leaves only a small patch of sky visible to create a ‘witch’s cauldron’ effect.

“We did everything to cook up an atmosphere,” Herzog, himself a football fan, explains. “This is the sharpest, clearest form possible; almost like the Colosseum. It’s somehow an attempt to go back to the roots of football, the Shakespearean theatre of it.”

But the most striking part of the Allianz, which is shared between the Munich clubs Bayern and TSV 1860, is on the outside. In short, this stadium glows. The entire exterior emits a deep, rich red when Bayern Munich play, a light blue when TSV play, and white when hosting the national team. That is made possible by 25,000 fluorescent lights mounted inside a special plastic façade, which forms a pillow-like veil around the stadium. The effect is visually stunning and it takes stadium iconography to a whole new level.

“The last thing you’d expect an architect to think about when designing a stadium is light,” says Paul Finch. “But Herzog & de Meuron understand that a stadium is always a kind of statement.” Now, the pair are designing the innovative Bird’s Nest stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. It will employ 45,000 tons of steel: “The statement there is: we are a rich and advanced nation,” says Finch.

A statement is exactly what was intended by the Olympic Stadium in Athens, host to the Summer Games in 2004. There, another rock-star architect, Santiago Calatrava, was hired to revamp an existing structure. Calatrava decided on an ambitious and controversial roof addition that would keep the fierce Greek sun off the spectators.

He explained that he wanted to emphasise “the return of the Games to their country of origin”. He planned two white arcs – based on the curved line of an ancient bow and lyre – that towered 72m into the air and supported a roof weighing 19,000 tons. Erecting them was such a challenge that the Greek prime minister and the International Olympic Committee worried publicly that Calatrava might fail. In the end, the triumphant structure spoke of a country at once in touch with its rich, ancient heritage and with the cutting edge of contemporary design, and became an icon of a celebrated Games.

What’s more, when Calatrava’s stadium was seen by a global television audience of billions, Athens was immediately rebranded as a cool, contemporary and creative city. It’s no wonder, then, that every city dreams of a stadium to call its own.

Pierre de Meuron	Jacques Herzog

Future stadiums

O2 World, Berlin, Germany Due for completion 2008

This multipurpose stadium will seat 17,000 and host ice hockey – due to local team Eisbären Berlin – handball and basketball. Most notably, though, the O2 World will feature a 1,800m² curved LED panel on its exterior front wall, turning its face into a giant video screen larger than those in New York’s Times Square. The cost is expected to reach €150m.

Nou Mestalla, Valencia, Spain Due for completion 2009

The new home of football team Valencia CF, this 75,000 seater is being designed by Reid Fenwick Asociados with ArupSport at a cost of about €300m. Taking its cue from the new generation of high-art stadiums, the Nou Mestalla will be clad in a wraparound aluminium shell. The look is strikingly futuristic or, if you prefer, reminiscent of a huge silver doughnut.

FR » Design des stades

Il n’est pas rare d’entendre les architectes comparer les stades sportifs à des cathédrales modernes. Aujourd’hui, une nouvelle génération est en train de transformer notre conception de ces constructions. Mais quels sont en Europe les signes constitutifs de ces stades contemporains? Et pourquoi ces lieux nous touchent-ils particulièrement?

Le nouveau stade de Wembley, par exemple, au Royaume-Uni avec son imposante arche de 133 mètres, combine technicité absolue et affirmation d’une identité culturelle par la puissance de sa représentation. “Depuis l’époque romaine, en Europe, nous avons compris que le stade faisait partie intégrante du tissu urbain,” explique Paul Finch, éditeur d’Architecture Review. “Un stade change l’état d’esprit d’une ville.”

Demandez donc à Jacques Herzog et à Pierre de Meuron. Leur ‘parc d’expériences’ à Bâles comprend un stade, un centre commercial, trois restaurants, un cinéma multiplex et un centre de fitness. Leur création suivante, l’Allianz Arena à Munich, possède une façade lumineuse, capable de diffuser une lumière intense, tout à tour rouge profond, bleu clair ou blanche, grâce à sa constellation de 25 000 néons fluorescents.

Visuellement, l’effet est spectaculaire et porte l’iconographie du stade vers une nouvelle dimension futuriste. “C’est une tentative de revenir aux racines du football, dans une perspective théâtrale shakespearienne,” explique Herzog.

Un stade est un ouvrage emblématique, comme le Stade Olympique d’Athènes construit en 2004. L’architecte Santiago Calatrava voulait souligner “le retour des Jeux dans leur pays d’origine”. Il a conçu deux immenses poutres blanches en arcs centrales, lignes courbes rappelant l’arc et la lyre, symboles de l’héritage de cette nation transposés dans un esprit de modernité.

NL » Sport vormgeven

Sportstadions worden wel eens moderne kathedralen genoemd. De nieuwe generatie architecten stelt die gebouwen nu in een heel ander daglicht. Wat typeert de hedendaagse Europese stadions? Waarom zijn ze zo belangrijk voor ons?

Neem nu het nieuwe Britse Wembleystadion met zijn toren van 133 meter. Een briljant staaltje techniek én een cultuuricoon. “In Europa weten we al sinds de oudheid dat stadion en stad onlosmakelijk verbonden zijn”, verklaart Paul Finch, uitgever van Architecture Review. “Een stadion verandert de psychologie van een stad.”

Vraag maar aan Jacques Herzog en Pierre de Meuron. Zij ontwierpen in Bazel het ‘experience park’, een combinatie van stadion, winkelcentrum, bioscoopcomplex, fitnesscentrum en drie restaurants. Hun volgende project, de Allianz Arena in München, licht van buiten op in dieprood, lichtblauw of wit dankzij 25.000 T.L.-lampen.

Het verbluffende resultaat tilt de stadioniconografie naar een nieuw, futuristisch niveau. “We proberen terug te keren naar de oorsprong van het voetbal, naar het Shakespeareaanse drama”, licht Herzog toe.

Een stadion is een statement, zoals het Olympische stadion dat Athene in 2004 liet bouwen. Architect Santiago Calatrava wilde “de terugkeer van de Spelen naar hun geboorteland” accentueren. Hij ontwierp twee witte bogen, gebaseerd op de golflijn van een klassieke boog en lier, als belichaming van een land dat voeling heeft met zijn erfenis én met baanbrekend design.

Latest posts from: features