Enormous steel falcon touches down by $1.5bn Atlanta stadium
A 13m (43ft) bird of prey has found a perch front of the new US$1.5bn (€1.3bn, £1.1bn) home of NFL franchise the Atlanta Falcons.
The statue, which represents the team’s signature falcon, is the biggest bird representation in the world and the biggest sculpture ever created by Hungarian artist Gabor Miklos Szoke. It’s wingspan is 20m (66ft) long and it weighs 73,000 pounds (33 tonnes).
Millions of people will enter the the futuristic stadium, designed by architects HOK, from underneath the wings of the falcon – which is captured in the moment of touchdown with a giant football.
"I have always liked to spark a reaction, to think in monumental dimensions, to conquer new spaces with my animals and creatures, to bring them to life,” said Szoke. “This is the biggest project in my career. It is a special honour for me that I was asked to do this.”
The artist has worked on the project for over a year with his artistic partner Berta Hauer, a team of 150 people and the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. The bird is formed of over 1,000 pieces of stainless steel and had to be built in sections of four pieces. These were shipped from Budapest to Atlanta for assembly.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled to open 26 August for a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals; slightly later than the originally scheduled opening date, due to construction delays with the facility's unique retractable roof.
A flyover video of the stadium, filmed in December, can be viewed below:
Atlanta Falcons Georgia NFL stadium design art HOK architecture Gabor Miklos Szoke.





NFL chooses unbuilt Atlanta and LA stadiums for future Super Bowls in boost for developers
Drone footage offers bird's eye view of HOK's hotly-anticipated Atlanta Falcons stadium
Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium to feature HGOR-designed edible gardens
360 Architecture/HOK reveals unique stadium design
Five design firms shortlisted to design US$1bn Atlanta stadium


Bjarke Ingels-designed Oakland baseball stadium a step closer

London's Battersea Power Station prepares for major launch

Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hilderbrand reveal US$250m redevelopment for Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia

Baca Architects submits scheme for floating eco-wellness resort

MVRDV reveal ambitious plans to create Marble Arch visitor attraction for London

Coventry's former IKEA building slated to become arts and cultural centre of international importance

World's first entirely wooden stadium approved for use by EFL

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter and ASP Architecture create hidden nature retreat inspired by hygge and Nordic hospitality

Zaha Hadid’s Opus building houses spa designed by The Wellness

Meow Wolf creates mind-blowing Las Vegas attraction – Omega Mart

BRC selected to design new World Food Center – will explore sustainability and global food supply

Ritz-Carlton Reserve opens with luxury spa at Japanese alpine ski resort

Scott Brownrigg-designed Museum of Military Medicine in Cardiff given planning approval

Work starts on US$898m e-sports arena in Shanghai

Gyms added to the mix for new super-luxe retail roll-out

OMA designs Miami Beach's ReefLine – a seven mile-long underwater sculpture park

Ole Scheeren and Shigeru Ban team up to design art and cultural destination in Hangzhou

FIFA files criminal complaint over funding of €459m world football museum

ReardonSmith leads design of Heya – a hotel room concept offering personalisation for each guest

Disney reveals first visuals of ambitious Star Wars attraction – including designs for hotel 'pods'

Flaxmill Maltings – the world's first cast-iron framed building – is to be redeveloped as a visitor attraction by Mather & Co

LVMH announces Bulgari Hotel for Miami Beach, with design by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel

Technogym opens retail store in Los Angeles

AZPML and UKST win competition to design Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture

Delos partners with TPP Capital to advance access to health and wellbeing solutions in urban communities

The Well creates integrated wellness retreat in New England countryside for Auberge Resorts

Architects 10 Design reveal plans for ambitious Edinburgh city centre plans

Perth's Boola Bardip museum opens in new AU$400m building designed by Hassell and OMA

UK Government's £1bn scheme to decarbonise is 'a huge opportunity' for the leisure industries
