MAD Architects completes, more than a Quzhou Sports Center, a landscape
07/10/2022.
[Quzhou - Zhejiang Province] China
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
MAD Architects has shared the first photographs of its las project, the newly-completed stadium that is part of the Quzhou Sports Park located within the historic city of Quzhou, 400 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, in China’s eastern coastal province of Zhejiang.
Quzhou is a city with thousands of years of history, containing deep traditional culture and philosophical ideas; complemented by beautiful scenery, with lush forestland covering more than 70% of the land.
Two years ago, in our April 2020 coverage of the project, construction of the mega development was underway. At that time, visualizations showcased a massive and poetic urban park where the "façade disappears into the terrain, covered by greenery so that it becomes the landscape itself." Two years later, the new development's 700,000-square-meter centerpiece emerges; "reflect the mountain ridge within distant view of the site while its landscape evokes those of planets imagined by visionary science fiction authors".
Quzhou is a city with thousands of years of history, containing deep traditional culture and philosophical ideas; complemented by beautiful scenery, with lush forestland covering more than 70% of the land.
Two years ago, in our April 2020 coverage of the project, construction of the mega development was underway. At that time, visualizations showcased a massive and poetic urban park where the "façade disappears into the terrain, covered by greenery so that it becomes the landscape itself." Two years later, the new development's 700,000-square-meter centerpiece emerges; "reflect the mountain ridge within distant view of the site while its landscape evokes those of planets imagined by visionary science fiction authors".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
First floor plan. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
Canopy. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
Seats. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
Section. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
North and South elevation. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects. P
West and East elevation. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
Typical node of Roof Grass Slope. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
Structure. Quzhou Sports Center by MAD Architects.
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
More information
Architects
MAD Architects. Principal Partners in Charge.- MA Yansong, DANG Qun, Yosuke Hayano.
Associate Partners in Charge.- LIU Huiying, Kin Li, FU Changrui.
Associate Partners in Charge.- LIU Huiying, Kin Li, FU Changrui.
Project team
XU Chen, LI Guangchong, Iting Lien, LI Cunhao, LIU Hailun, LI Hui, MA Yin, Kyung Eun Na, Alessandro Fisalli, KANG Wenzhao, Thoufeeq Ahmed, ZHOU Haimeng, Neeraj Mahajan, ZHANG Yufei, SU Le.
Collaborators
Executive Architect.- CCDI Group.
Landscape Architect.- PWP Landscape Architecture.
Structural Engineer.- Schlaich Bergermann Partner.
MEP Engineer.- SC Consultants Limited.
Façade Consultant.- RFR Asia.
Lighting Consultant.- Ning’s Field Lighting Design.
Animation Support.- SAN.
Landscape Architect.- PWP Landscape Architecture.
Structural Engineer.- Schlaich Bergermann Partner.
MEP Engineer.- SC Consultants Limited.
Façade Consultant.- RFR Asia.
Lighting Consultant.- Ning’s Field Lighting Design.
Animation Support.- SAN.
Client
Quzhou West District Development Committee.
Area
Site Area.- 699,040 square metres (Phase One.- 327,370 square meters; Phase Two.- 371,670 square metres).
Building Area.- 337,500 square metres (Phase One.- 264,100 square meters; Phase Two.- 73,400 square metres).
Building Area.- 337,500 square metres (Phase One.- 264,100 square meters; Phase Two.- 73,400 square metres).
Dates
2018-2021.
Location
Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Photography
Aogvision.
MA YANSONG
Beijing-born architect Ma Yansong is recognized as an important voice in a new generation of architects. Since the founding of MAD in 2004, his works in architecture and art have been widely published and exhibited. He graduated from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Ma attended Yale University after receiving the American Institute of Architects Scholarship for Advanced Architecture Research in 2001 and holds a masters degree in Architecture from Yale. He has since taught architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
Ma Yansong was awarded the 2006 Architecture League Young Architects Award. In 2008 he was selected as one of the twenty most influential Young Architects today by ICON magazine and Fast Company named him one of the ten most creative people in architecture in 2009. In 2010 he became the first architect from China to receive a RIBA fellowship.
“I work with emotion and with the context. When I design a building, I close my eyes and feel as if I saw a virtual world which lays half way between the city, the nature and the land. It goes from large scale to small scale. Many things travel in front of my eyes; I feel them and try to find the way to express my feelings. The language I use is the least important of it all. It does not matter whether they are straight lines, curves... I only intend for people to feel the same or to find something unexpected” says Ma Yansong. “MAD is an attitude, a posture towards architecture, towards society. Through our work we want people to be inspired by a place through local nature, time and space”, he states.
Photo © Daniel J.Allen
Architects MAD
MAD Office, Beijing, China. MAD is a Beijing-based architecture design office dedicated to creating innovative projects. The firm combines a sophisticated design philosophy with advanced technology in addressing and furthering issues in contemporary architecture and urbanity.
The firm has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2006 Architectural League of New York's Young Architects Forum Award.
MAD's ongoing projects include the international competition-winning Absolute Tower in Toronto, Canada; The Tianjin Sinosteel International Plaza, a 320M tall tower in Tianjin, China; the Mongolian Museum in Inner Mongolia, China, and a private villa in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The firm has also won numerous international design competitions, including the 2006 Absolute Tower Competition in Toronto; the 2005 Solar Plaza Competition in Guangzhou, China, and the 2004 Shanghai National Software Outsourcing Base.
MAD's work has been published worldwide, and the office has also presented its designs in a series of exhibitions. In 2006, MAD was shown at the ‘MAD in China' exhibition in Venice during the Architecture Biennial, and the ‘MAD Under Construction' exhibition at the Tokyo Gallery in Beijing. In March of 2007, MAD will be shown at ‘MAD.exe' an exhibition at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano and Qun Dand.
