STATUS
IDEA
Washington Football Stadium
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATESCLIENT
Washington Football
TYPOLOGY
Sports
SIZE M2/FT2
132,664 / 1,428,000
SHARE
Set at the bottom of a stepped, grass covered drive-in amphitheater, BIG envisions a new stadium for NFL football team, The Commanders that will expand the game-day experience beyond the building’s walls – turning traditional tailgating into a communal picnic. In the off season, the stadium and its grounds become a public park and concert venue for the community.
In addition to the stadium, the project includes over 50,000 sq ft of exhibition space for a museum, as well as 100,000 sq ft of offices, club rooms, and training facilities. The new stadium will be located in the Tri-State DMV area, the home of the team since 1937.
traditional stadium
stadium inside-out
Outside, the stadium is wrapped in a golden metal mesh, which is pushed in and out to create areas for entrances and concessions. Around it, a moat will ease access to the stadium through a series of bridges that eliminate the need for standard fences or gates. In the warm months, when not in use, the moat will act as a wave pool and lazy river and during winter, an ice rink.
From Parking to Park
— Football stadiums typically sit in expansive paved parking lots, far removed from the stadium walls. By spreading parking over several levels, we can create a smaller area with intimate atmosphere for tailgating on top, sloped towards the arena.
Slits
— The terrain around the parking is pushed down to create a flat area for training fields and the parking is pulled up to create areas for tailgating and concessions.
Soft Boundary
— Instead of gates, which create a physical segregation between the stadium and the tailgating area, a moat will form a soft boundary. The moat doubles as a wave pool during the summer and an ice rink in the winter. The tailgating area can also serve as an amphitheater for events.
Amphitheater
— When football games are not taking place, the parking bowl will act as a park. Trees will offer shade for visitors and cars, and in the center the trees will clear to form a giant amphitheater outside the arena where events can take place all year long.
The stadium is designed to optimize game days, with a circular layout that is elevated to increase the capacity of bleachers at the 50 yard line. BIG’s open arrangement forgoes the traditional, tiered design of most American Football stadiums to create one big bowl where all the fans can see each other and cheer on their respective teams in unison. Two 8,000 sq ft scoreboards will accommodate display screens and game details, bringing crowds across the stadium together.
At its highest point, the surrounding park is pushed down to create the museum, the team’s HQ and to accommodate four full-sized training fields. By night, the green amphitheater is able to transform into a performance venue with space for 100,000 people.
Bjarke Ingels Kai-Uwe Bergmann Thomas Christoffersen Agustin Perez-Torres Alejandra Cortes Alvaro Velosa Blake Smith Jakob Henke Kristian Hindsberg Simon Scheller Tara Abedinitafreshi Won Ryu Casey Tucker Chengjie Jacob Li Douglass Alligood Frankie Sharpe Flora Bao Jan Klaska Jaeho Park
COLLABORATORS
Buro Happold Engineering
