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Architects: SADAR + VUGA
- Area: 24614 m²
- Year: 2010
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Photographs:Blaž Budja
Text description provided by the architects. Sports Park Stožice
Sports Park Stožice is a hybrid project. Its realisation is the result of the public-private partnership between the city of Ljubljana and Grep development company. The Sports Park Stožice combines a football stadium and a multi-purpose sports hall with a large shopping centre, which is covered by a recreational park landscape. Due to the concentration of various spontaneous and programmed activi- ties, as well as sports and entertainment events attracting people of all ages and interests both during the daytime and in the evenings, the 187,500sqm Sports Park Stožice becomes one of the major focal points of Ljubljana’s urban life.
The sports hall and the football stadium buildings, together with the large monolithic, prism-shaped res- idential towers of the BS3 neighbourhood, the World Trade Center and Smelt buildings on the west side, and the forest island on the east side, form a cluster of recognisable structures at the north-eastern en- trance into the city. The two storeys of the shopping centre and the indoor car park occupy the 12-metre deep disused gravel pit. The park covering the roof of the shopping centre links the cultural landscape by the river Sava across the northern section of the outer road ring with the green urban space in the city centre. The entire newly-built structure is integrated into the space so as to retain and emphasise the horizontal, planar character of the open space. The stadium and sports hall buildings frame the views of the Alps towards the north, and of the castle hill and city centre towers towards the south.
The Crater of the Football Stadium
The opening football match between Slovenia and Australia on August 10 will mark the opening of the spectacular 16,000 seat stadium.
The football stadium is designed according to contemporary economic, sociological and environmen- tal UEFA standards. Its design and shape provide ideal conditions for sporting events and ensure the perfect experience for the spectators. The football stadium is ‘sunken’ in the park – only the roof over the stands rises above the plane of the park as a monolithic crater. The roof cladding has the same finish as the sports hall.
The plane is pierced by four flights of stairs that provide access and lead to the stadium’s concourse. The park’s plateau gradually descends to the east revealing the stadium as an open building, while the eastern entrances create the view into the interior of the stadium. A steel roof stretches high above the stands highlighting its 4x4m grid structure, emphasising the sensation of the interior.
The stands descend from the concourse to the football pitch, enabling spectators to be very near to the action, while still covered by the roof.
On the west side of the stadium, the concourse terminates at the VIP and media rooms. This section continues into the underground buildings with all the necessary amenities for the players, officials and media. In the context of the wider city landscape, the roof over the stands - the crater - becomes the stadium’s distinctive mark.
