MAD’s design embeds the functions of the sports park within natural forms, creating an new land-art in the center of the city – a futuristic landscape halfway between Earth and Mars.
“We dream not only of creating an urban pace about sports and ecology, but also turning it into a unique land art park for the world, establishing a relationship between the city’s heritage and history of Shanshui culture,”
Ma Yansong.
Spanning almost 700,000 square meters, the first and second phase have a total construction area of approximately 340,000 square meters, and besides, thanks its large seating capacity include a stadium (30,000 seats), gymnasium (10,000 seats), natatorium (2,000 seats), national sports complex, outdoor sports venue, science & technology museum, hotel accommodations, youth centre and retail programs.
At ground level, visitors are met with a set of towering concrete columns, 60 in total, supporting the stadium. Up close, fair-faced concrete sheets with exposed wood-grained finishes are said to set a textural tone that "blurs the boundary between interior and exterior."
Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects. Photogragph by Aogvision. Courtesy of MAD Architects.
Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects. Photogragph by Aogvision. Courtesy of MAD Architects.
Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects. Photogragph by Aogvision. Courtesy of MAD Architects.
Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects. Photogragph by Aogvision. Courtesy of MAD Architects.The stadium's canopy consists of self-supportive steel wrapped with a translucent, "light-emitting membrane," a material said by the architects to "take on the completed geometry required for long-spanning design." The PTFE membrane that's wrapped around the lower parts of the structure also aids in acoustic quality throughout the stadium, while the same membrane that is wrapped around the upper canopy has a more rigid PTFE membrane that keeps weather elements like rain from penetrating seating areas.
In addition to the stadium acting as the park's centerpiece, the development will also include a science & technology museum, a gym that will hold 10,000 seats, a 2,000-seat natatorium, a hotel, and multiple indoor and outdoor sports facilities.
"The Quzhou stadium breaks away from the conventional sports architecture. It is conceived as a piece of land art that submerges itself into the nature and welcomes everyone to gather and share the sports spirit. [...]Even when the stadium is closed, visitors are encouraged to climb the structure and treat it as an active piece of the landscape."
MAD Architects
