The Leisure Media Company Ltd
The Leisure Media Company Ltd
The Leisure Media Company Ltd

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. 
Related stories
01 Jun 2016

NFL chooses unbuilt Atlanta and LA stadiums for future Super Bowls in boost for developers

13 Jan 2016

Drone footage offers bird's eye view of HOK's hotly-anticipated Atlanta Falcons stadium

22 Jun 2015

Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium to feature HGOR-designed edible gardens

16 Jan 2015

360 Architecture/HOK reveals unique stadium design

01 Feb 2013

Five design firms shortlisted to design US$1bn 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
CLD,SAR,AAC,ARC,DES
The statue, which represents the team’s signature falcon, is the biggest bird representation in the world / Timi Szoke
More news
News stories: 1 - 30 of 7782     
 
 
 
News stories: 1 - 30 of 7782     
 
 
 
company profile
Company profile: Polin Waterparks
Design, engineering, manufacturing, installation of waterslides, waterparks and waterplay attractions. Polin has perfected hundreds of exclusive and successful projects all around the world: outdoor parks, indoor parks and hotel/resort packages, regardless of the project’s size.
Try cladmag for free!
Sign up with CLAD to receive our regular ezine, instant news alerts, free digital subscriptions to CLADweek, CLADmag and CLADbook and to request a free sample of the next issue of CLADmag.
sign up
features
Feature: The exciting new materials shaping the built environment
"Curiosity drives us and I think we all have a little bit of the geek within us"

The innovative new materials shaping the future of architecture

Left to right: James Balfour, Giles Dean and Kevin Yates
"We’re passionate about market disupters – companies with conviction and a will to change"

The founders of new microgym 1Rebel

Emilio Perez
"The idea of selling a better lifestyle has been rooted in everything that has happened in Miami over the past 80 to 100 years. Chad Oppenheim"

It’s always been a city with a big personality and the new projects taking shape in Miami are as bold and ambitious as ever. Alice Davis investigates

Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
To advertise in our catalogue gallery: call +44(0)1462 431385
features
The OCT Loft development includes a range of interesting public areas that link the studios, bars, restaurants, shops and exhibition spaces
"When people came, they were surprised it was so raw"

The leisure projects transforming this fast-growing city

The Wuhan Movie Theme Park
Ray Winkler (left) and Cristina Garcia (right)
"Mark definitely wasn’t a minimal architect – his designs were outrageous, big, splashy, noisy and extravagant"

The Wuhan Movie Theme Park and Han Show Theatre

The Perkins+Will-designed National Center for Civil Rights opened 
in Atlanta in 2014
Gabrielle Bullock studied architecture and fine art at the Rhode Island School of Design
"I’m one of 424 black female licensed architects in the US. We represent 0.2 per cent of the profession"

Architects must reflect the world they design for, says Perkins+Will’s director of global diversity

Fullerton Bay Hotel
Fu studied at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He set up his practice in 2000
"I've done 80 interviews in the past 60 days"

The Hong Kong-based designer on his transportative year

The two firms collaborated on the design of the Dubai World Expo 2020 bid master plan
Bill HellmuthCEO, HOK Sport + Recreation +, Entertainment
"It’s a great time to be back in sports – it’s a piece of our practice we’ve sorely missed"

HOK re-enters the sports market

cladkit product news
Alberto Apostoli and Newform collaborate to launch the A.Zeta showerhead
The showerhead offers two modes; rainfall or waterfall
Megan Whitby
Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta ...
Alberto Apostoli designs tech-forward Wellness Therapy furniture collection for Varaschin
The furniture collection draws on absolute geometries, pure lines, neutral colours and strong references to nature
Megan Whitby
Furniture manufacturer Varaschin has unveiled the new Wellness Therapy range, designed by Italian spa and wellness architect and designer Alberto ...
Codelocks develops new glass door smart lock
The new lock model allows facilities and building managers to create and manage access via an app or online portal
Megan Whitby
Codelocks has launched its first glass door smart lock to bring intelligent access control to modern spa, leisure, fitness and ...
cladkit product news
Siminetti unveils iridescent decorative panelling range inspired by plants
The Clematis design
Megan Whitby
The Botanicals is Siminetti’s newest Mother of Pearl decorative panelling collection, inspired by the distinctive patterns found in botany and ...
Mather & Co and ITV unite to create Coronation Street Experience
Mather & Co has transformed the visitor centre into the ultimate haven for ardent Coronation Street viewers
Magali Robathan
Experience designers, Mather & Co, have orchestrated a remarkable collaboration with ITV to unveil the new Coronation Street Experience, a ...
Eco Resort Network conference to convene in Mauritius this May
The event will be hosted in the Mauritius in 2024
Megan Whitby
Hospitality industry event Eco Resort Network is set to take place at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay, Mauritius, from ...
cladkit product news
Koto Design introduces wood-fired hot tub
Koto is known for crafting modular, energy-neutral cabins and homes
Katie Barnes
A striking wood-fired hot tub has been unveiled by Koto, an architecture and design studio which has a passion for ...
Eden project uses drones to spell out climate change warning
Magali Robathan
Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change ...
Jaffe Holden helps bring Academy Museum of Motion Pictures alive
Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics for the Academy Museum
Magali Robathan
Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion ...
x
Sign up with CLAD for regular news updates
The Leisure Media Company Ltd
The Leisure Media Company Ltd