‘Stadium of Tomorrow’ could include permanent residential homes, says Populous

– Christopher Lee
Stadiums of the future may include permanent residential facilities and places of work if they adopt an innovative, community-focused vision put forward by Populous.
The architectural practice behind the Olympic Stadiums in Sydney and London has imagined the ‘Stadium of Tomorrow’ for the July issue of National Geographic magazine.
Part of the vision includes making stadiums “seven days a week, 365 days a year” venues, with residential and office facilities incorporated into them.
Talking to CLADglobal, Populous’ EMEA managing director Christopher Lee said the notion was eminently possible and one of the most “exciting” parts of the firm’s ‘Stadium of Tomorrow’ prospective.
He revealed that Populous was working on a UK-based sports project that included two hotels, a school with playground, an art gallery and a vegetable patch.
“We’re doing a number of stadiums at the moment that are in the early design stage, developing I guess, that we’re referring to as a ‘superblock’.
“The idea is that you can start creating these superblocks in the urban environment, leveraging the infrastructure of the stadium – whether that’s transport, energy creation, data infrastructure – and start plugging bits in and making it work 365 days a year, with people living in them and people working in them,” he said.
Populous recently unveiled a project it is working on with League One football club Southend United, where residential apartments and hotel rooms could be integrated into the stadium roofscape.
Lee said that incorporating all these parts into a stadium allowed clients to “sweat the assets”, particularly when building in locations with high land value.
The vision also puts ideas forward for improving the nature of multi-use stadiums.
According to Lee, multi-sports stadiums built in the mid-20th century were “a compromise for everyone”, but with new technology he said two or more sports coexisting in the same venue was possible without the compromise.
For example, employing an LED surface that could change texture for different sports – astroturf for American football, grass for soccer and wood for basketball – is one solution entertained.
Lee discussed the work he was doing on the soon-to-be-built Tottenham Hotspur stadium, which will be able to accommodate a number of NFL matches. The artificial NFL field has been constructed six feet beneath the natural soccer turf pitch, which slides under the stadium for NFL matches. Both surfaces have been built at the “perfect sightlines” for both sports.
Much of the sustainable practices put forward by the vision – including PVS on the roof, wind turbines and rainwater collection – are already in use in a number of stadiums, but Lee said he expected sustainability to drive projects even more.
To read the full article in National Geographic, click here.
Populous stadiumBeckham's Miami dream team steps closer to reality with stadium land deal
Populous complete new stand at the world's 'home of cricket'
Populous reveal what the future of eSports arenas looks like
FEATURE: CLAD people – Chris Lee, Managing Director, Populous


Hard Rock Hotel to bring its iconic "rock star service" to London

Lemay and Sid Lee design upscale hotel on Montreal's Golden Square Mile

Melike Altinisik Architects chosen to create self-constructing robot museum in South Korea

First-of-its-kind medical gym set to debut at the Arts Club in London

Reimagined TWA Flight Center readies for May take-off

BEHF complete work on historic restaurant in Austria

Grit and glamour: Chapter Roma Hotel gears up for spring debut

Schmidt Hammer Lassen to restore Boston's Seaport World Trade Center

OPEN Architecture design soulful "Chapel of Sound" in China

3XN Architects win contract to build multipurpose arena in Munich

L'Avenue restaurant brings the French Alps to Fifth Avenue

Ian Schrager's Edition Times Square eyes March opening

Chicago okays hotly contested Lincoln Yards mega-project

Futuristic hotel with focus on "inner life" care takes shape in Paris

Rabot Dutilleul tapped to develop aquatic centre with world's deepest dive pool

Conran and Partners-designed Das Triest hotel completes renovation in Vienna

Historic Grand Port of Marseille to be reborn as seafront leisure hub

Kerry Hill Architects to design minimalist resort within a secret garden for Aman Kyoto

Henning Larsen to lead redesign of largest opera house in Paris

Miraval’s new Austin resort includes 20,000sq ft Clodagh-designed Life in Balance Spa

Reimagined Museum of Modern Art to open its doors in October

MQ Studio design modernist retreat in Beijing's Forbidden City

Studio Gang unveil community-focused concept for Tom Lee Park

Iconic Hawaiian Kona Village resort to reopen as Rosewood in 2022

Quinn Evans Architects transform Neo-Gothic high-rise into Detroit's first extended stay hotel

Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC get approval for £1bn Olympia revamp

Live like Bond: Aston Martin reveals 'Sky Amenities' floors with emphasis on well-being

SHoP-designed eco-park in Lower Manhattan edges closer to completion

Arquitectonica and Martin Brudnizki team up to design Italy-inspired hotel
