njiric+ arhitekti‘s design for a large stadium has been nicknamed as the “Blue Volcano” by the public and the press, an overwhelming built form that creates a presence in the city, a new landmark for the area. The stadium was conceived not as a building typology but rather as a topography. Using the natural undulation of the landscape, the new civic arena is housed within an artificial hill made of recycled rubber and blue pigment sprayed onto corrugated aluminium sheets.
More about the stadium after the break.
Bigness. The size of the stadium goes beyond the human experience of public spaces. It’s overwhelming quality comes from the simple fact of an exceptional proportion and as an extreme accumulation of built form. The stadium as The Presence, an object which is “just there“. The new landmark for the city.
While the expression on the exterior of the undulating landscape is quite minimal, all the dynamics of roof construction are visible from the interior. The threshold then becomes an important transition space as it defines the line of a dramatic change, “the revealing of space from minimal to maximal.”
The stadium houses various commercial programs linked to the nearby retail areas. Plus, a number of side-events, such as skateboarding and free-climbing, utilize the form of the exterior.
A zeppelin-like balloon structure covers the central area which phenomenologically, represents a symbiotic partnership with the mound. The “cloud” serves as a signal, as a screen that reflects the spectacle into the broader public space. In addition to sheltering the playing field, the cloud has sewn-in photovoltaics that generate energy.
The combination of steel cables, ETFE membranes and polycarbonate dome create a super light construction system.
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Architects: njiric+ arhitekti, Hrvoje Njiric, Erich Ranegger, Jelena Botteri, David Kabalin, Fuminori Nosaku, Josip Micetic,
Collaborators:
architecture: Vedran Skopac, Mladen Freskura, Ervin Poljak structure: Wilhelm Spirk – Spirk+Partner GmbH, Roland Birkmann – Spirk+Partner GmbH fire protection: Branimir Acinger, Zeljko Muzevic renderings: Damir Stefanic, Erick Velasco, Jurica Barisic, Sasa Perusinovic
Client: Grad Zagreb Location: Kajzerica, Zagreb Size: 188 905 m2 Status: competition 1st prize
