MVRDV has partnered with KLABU, a social enterprise based in Amsterdam, to design a modular, multi-functional clubhouse aimed at supporting refugees. This collaboration, which began in 2022, is founded on the belief that sports can play a pivotal role in helping individuals rebuild their lives, fostering joy, pride, and hope. KLABU's initiative involves constructing clubhouses within refugee camps, settlements, and urban areas, where they serve as community hubs offering access to sports equipment, activities, and connectivity through Wi-Fi and TV broadcasts.
MVRDV, in collaboration with Huayi Design, has been awarded the design contract for the Shenzhen Pingshan Sports Park in eastern Shenzhen, China. The sports park will feature a wide range of facilities, including an arena for badminton and other competitive sports, the new Chinese National Badminton Training Centre, and a National Fitness Centre, alongside various amenities for public use. Central to the project is the inclusion of 100 badminton courts, which also inspired the architectural design, particularly exemplified by the 240-meter-long roof shaped like a badminton racket head.
Sports-focused architecture office Populous has been confirmed as the lead designer of the Aramco Stadium, one of the main locations scheduled to host the upcoming 2027 AFC Asian Cup and the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The office has also been commissioned with the design of the surrounding master plan in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The new 47,000-seat venue will be compliant with international standards for premier football competitions, aiming to establish Al Khobar as an international sporting destination.
Guillaume Bontemps/Ville de Paris. Image Courtesy of Paris 2024 Olympic Games
The recent history of the city of Paris is entangled with that of the Olympic Games. In 1900, Paris hosted the second edition of the Games, starting a journey of urban adaptations and architectural developments that prepared the city for the event. Among the most important changes was the introduction of Line 1 of the metro, inaugurated in 1900 to link the locations of the Universal Exhibition with those of the Olympic Games in Vincennes. Just 24 years later, the city hosted one of the most influential editions of the Olympic Games. The event, the first to be broadcasted on the airwaves, contributed to a substantial rise in the popularity of the Games. It was also during this edition that the concept of the Olympic Village was born. Several of the infrastructures and venues built over a century ago are still in use in Paris, with some of them returning now as hosts of Olympic events.
To take advantage of the historic heritage of the city of Paris while also minimizing the impact of the Olympics, the Paris 2024 Games are organizing a set of temporary arenas and installations to host several key competitions, only to be disassembled after the games' closing. Only one sports venue has been built specifically for the 2024 Olympic Games, the Aquatics Centre Paris, as the city aims to use its existing sporting infrastructure to the maximum, ensuring a smaller footprint compared to previous editions. In addition to the established venues, key temporary sites include the Trocadéro, Eiffel Tower, Champ-de-Mars, Esplanade des Invalides, Pont Alexandre III, Place de la Concorde, and Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, with additional stands along the Seine for the Opening Ceremony.
The assembly and disassembly of these temporary sites will follow a step-by-step approach to minimize disruption. Geographical phasing will preserve traffic lanes and access to public spaces, while time phasing will gradually activate and deactivate competition perimeters to limit construction impact and quickly restore spaces post-Games. These measures align with Paris 2024's commitment to organizing responsible and respectful Games and preserving the city's urban and natural heritage.
Community benefit is among the first terms mentioned when announcing a new public project. This is especially true in the case of sports halls, promising improvements in well-being and social cohesion. At a closer look, two typologies of sports halls emerge, with varying degrees of involvement with community life: on the one hand, there are large-scale venues dedicated to hosting international competitions, often boosting the capacities of thousands of people, taking on the role of modern landmarks alongside stadiums. On the other hand, there are small-scale multi-purpose sports halls, commonly annexed to schools, dispersed throughout neighborhoods, or present in rural areas with limited access to other public amenities. Despite the often-understated presence, these venues embrace and expand their multi-purpose role by offering opportunities to play, connect, organize events, and support diverse community activities.
In preparation for the city of Asturias, Spain, to become one of the hosts of the FIFA World Cup in 2030, the El Molinón stadium is proposed to undergo a major remodeling process. Home Real Sporting de Gijón, the stadium is reimagined by the architecture office Sordo Madaleno together with Orlegi Sports. The proposal aims to increase the stadium’s capacity to accommodate 9,000 additional visitors to the 33,650 fixed seats during the World Cup. It also strives to reconnect the venue to its surroundings and the city of Gijón, Asturias.
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is now recognized as a symbol of Madrid, Spain. Home to the Real Madrid football team, the stadium built in 1947 occupies a key position in the city, adjacent to a major transit artery. The stadium went through several refurbishments since its inauguration, most aimed at increasing the seating capacity. A major modernization process began in 2012, following an international competition. The winning design team is L35 Architects, in collaboration with GMP and Ribas & Ribas. The refurbishment project aimed to redefine the building’s relationship with the surrounding urban spaces, to improve accessibility, and to integrate more activities, from sporting to leisure, commercial, and socio-cultural functions.
As awareness of sustainable development grows, bamboo is emerging as an attractive alternative to traditional construction materials. This innovative material is making significant inroads in the construction of sports facilities, showcasing how sustainable practices can shape a greener future.
Bamboo stands out as an eco-friendly substitute for wood, concrete, and steel. Its application in sports facility construction markedly reduces environmental impact and enhances sustainability. The use of locally sourced bamboo in certain regions further decreases carbon emissions associated with transportation. The advantages of bamboo extend beyond its environmental benefits. This material is not only strong and durable but also lightweight and flexible, making it ideal for modern construction demands.
For cities, hosting an Olympic event represents both an honor, an important opportunity for growth, and a significant challenge. With over 200 nations taking part in the Games, the Olympics are the largest sporting competition in the world. Adapting the public and sporting infrastructure to accommodate this sudden influx of people and the scale of these events runs the risk of misunderstanding the cities’ needs after the closing ceremony, often producing “white elephants” that struggle to adapt to the rhythm and necessities of everyday urban life. Urban transformations are often cited as an advantage of hosting the Olympic Games, as cities are incentivized to invest in their traffic infrastructure, housing, and public spaces. One such example is the city of Paris, which introduced its first metro line on the occasion of hosting the second edition of the Olympic Games in 1900.
When it comes to the venues, however, the issue of adaptive reuse becomes a pressing one, as the architecture is challenged to find solutions to transform, accommodating thousands of people during the Olympics, then scaling down to become a financially sustainable part of a city’s sporting offering. Across the world, several Olympic venues have managed to extend their usability after the closing of the games, opening themselves to the local communities and welcoming a more diverse programming of sports and leisure events. While the high construction costs are often difficult to justify, these venues have become markers of local identity and attractive tourist attractions, extending their use decades after welcoming the Olympic crowds.
British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori MBE has designed a pavilion as part of Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s (HKW) festival in Berlin. The festival, titled Ballet of the Masses - On Football and Catharsis, initiated an annual pavilion in 2023, and this year’s pavilion dresses intricate questions of coexistence through its materiality and form. Part of the Shaped to the Measure of the People’s Songs architectural series, Yinka Illori’s pavilion crafts a spatial proposition that explores complex themes of racism in sports and personal accountability.
The Grand Palais, an iconic Parisian landmark, is set to play a significant role in the 2024 Paris Olympics following a major restoration by French studio Chatillon Architectes. The first images of the refurbished building, captured by Laurent Kronental, reveal the progress of the extensive project that began in 2021. While the full restoration is expected to be completed by 2025, the initial phase will be unveiled this summer, allowing the historic venue to host Olympic events, including the fencing and taekwondo competitions.
As the anticipation builds for the XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris, the city is preparing to host a global sporting event and embark on a journey of urban renewal. In a departure from traditional stadium-centric hosting, Paris 2024 embraces a new approach to the Olympic experience. Sports architecture has the ability to transcend functionality and become a space of collective experience and shared joy. In that sense, it invites individuals from diverse backgrounds to forge connections while celebrating athleticism. This month’s curated collection focuses on diverse forms of sports architecture, stadiums, venues, and landscaping projects, dissecting what components come together to form different sports architecture experiences.
For the Qatar World Cup in 2022, Foster + Partners designed the iconic and more traditional Lusail FIFA stadium. In India, M:OFA Studios designed the National Institute of Water Sports, breaking away from the pragmatic norms of government institutions. In Hangzhou, China, the 2022 Asian Games featured a new Cricket Field by AZUT, emerging as an integration of sports infrastructure with the natural landscape. Meanwhile, in Order City, China, PLAT ASIA transformed an existing urban square into a Smart Sports Park, promoting community wellness and interaction. Finally, Opsis Architecture’s University of Idaho Arena serves as a main gateway to the University campus, celebrating the spirit of athleticism and community.
Populous has just unveiled a comprehensive design for the new Belmont Parkmodernization project. Situated in the iconic venue in Nassau County known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the project seeks to usher in significant economic benefits, including the creation of thousands of jobs. Under the oversight of the New York Racing Association (NYRA), the project is set to be completed in the fall of 2026.
Courtesy of HKS Architects, CGI created by Somewhere | wearesomewhere.net
Commissioned by Diriyah Company, HKS Architects have revealed the design for a new multisport arena in Diriyah. Envisioned as a catalyst for the local culture and the entertainment sector, the 20,000-seat venue will be located in the center of The City of Earth, a 76,000-square-meter development aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, aimed at becoming one of the most attractive venues for tourism in the Middle East.
Populous, along with the Board of Directors of the Qiddiya Investment Company, has unveiled the design for the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a new multi-use venue to contribute to the offerings of Qiddiya City, a new district dedicated to sports and entertainment near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Located atop the 200m-high Tuwaiq cliff, the stadium, featuring a vast array of integrated technologies and innovative systems, is anticipated to host some of the country’s biggest sports, entertainment, and cultural events.
First drafted by Renzo Piano and developed by RPBW and OBR, the Waterfront di Levante is a project that aims to transform what was previously the back of a port into a new urban front on the sea. The development is planned to become a new landmark on the seafront of Genoa, Italy, by bringing new urban and port functions, both public and private, to an underutilized area. By controlling the built-to-open area ratio, it also seeks to enhance the connection between the city and the sea. The project introduces functions such as the new Urban Park, a new dock, residences, offices, student housing, retail facilities, apart-hotels, and a new sports hall.
