UNStudio design selected for new football stadium in china

dalian football stadium in china by UNStudio image courtesy UNStudio

UNStudio has won the limited competition for a 40,000 spectator football stadium for the most successful club in the chinese super league: dalian shide fc. the stadium will be built in the club’s hometown of the city of dalian, on the southern tip of liaodong peninsula in northeast china.the design for the 38,500 m2 stadium has been based on the colourful layering and overlapping of the ancient chinese cuju football. it weaves together the collective spirit of the spectators with the public realm and the urban context of the building. the main stadium houses spectator seating, tv broadcasting centre, administration areas, vip lounge, players facilities and public concourse in a layered envelope which extends on ground level to provide outdoor public areas above decked parking facilities. in addition, the design incorporates two training fields on the 144,000 m2 site.

dalian football stadium in china image courtesy UNStudio

UNStudio’s design for the dalian football stadium reacts to this setting by orientating the building in order to maximise both the use of existing transport modes and the views of the surrounding sea and mountains, whilst providing a unique sporting venue for the population of the dalian.

dalian football stadium model image courtesy UNStudio

essential to the stadium typology is the experience of the spectator. aside from the basic function of a stadium as an arena for spectator sport with one central focal point, stadium design requires the consideration of many essential structural, programmatic, contextual, infrastructural and stylistic elements and the incorporation of these into a strong, integral gesture. infrastructural considerations include ease of access and evacuation, visitor routing and parking facilities, while contextual considerations form an important element in both the relationship of the stadium to the city, its surroundings and its orientation with regard to nearby transport modes.

UNStudio’s design for the dalian stadium presents an inclusive approach to stadium design where the articulation of the structure and the openings and overlapping moments of its double-layered envelope serve as the starting point for visitor experience and programmatic and infrastructural requirements, in addition to heightening spectator experience in terms of proximity to the playing field.

dalian football stadium model image courtesy UNStudio

dalian football stadium – concept rendering image courtesy UNStudio

dalian football stadium colour seating plan image courtesy UNStudio

dalian football stadium image courtesy UNStudio

project info:

dalian football stadium, dalian, china, 2009 client: dalian city bureau of urban planning location: dalian, china building surface: 38,500 m2_building site: 144,000 m2 capacity: 40,000 spectators programme: football stadium with two additional training grounds status: competition 1st prize

UNStudio: ben van berkel, caroline bos, astrid piber with nuno almeida, ger gijzen and cynthia markhoff, luis etchegorry, shu yan chan, ramon van der heijden, marcin koltunski, fernie lai, patrik noome

advisors engineering consultants: arup shanghai, china arup international consultants (shanghai) co., ltd sports consultant: ass planungs gmbh freie architekten, germany traffic consultant: mva hong kong ltd. visualisations: unstudio / and sz silkroad digi tech co. ltd., china animation: idf global pty ltd.