About

Inau­gu­rated on 16 May 2019 by hosting the Amir Cup Final of the Qatar Stars national foot­ball league, Al Janoub Stadium was the first new stadium commis­sioned for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Zaha Hadid Archi­tects (ZHA) toge­ther with Aecom began desig­ning the stadium along with its new precinct for the city in March 2013.

As one of the venues for the Qatar World Cup, the stadium will host the group and quarter-final matches of the tour­na­ment. It is located in the city of Al Wakrah, 20km south of Doha and connected to the capital via the Red Line of the new Doha Metro system.

Legacy

The client’s brief was for a 40,000-seat foot­ball stadium for the 2022 World Cup which could be reduced to a 20,000-seat capa­city in its legacy mode follo­wing the tour­na­ment. 20,000 seats is the optimum capa­city for legacy use as the home ground to Al Wakrah Sport Club profes­sional foot­ball team of the Qatar Stars national league. These tempo­rary seats have been desi­gned to be demoun­table and trans­por­table to a deve­lo­ping country in need of sporting infra­struc­ture for post-tour­na­ment usage.

Further tempo­rary accom­mo­da­tion such as conces­sions are required for the addi­tional capa­city of FIFA World Cup tour­na­ment mode. This has been built as a tempo­rary overlay outside the perma­nent foot­print and enclo­sure of the stadium in its legacy mode.

Roof

Al Janoub stadium has an operable roof desi­gned by Schlaich Berger­mann Partner and a seating bowl cooling system that ensures the stadium can be used during Qatar’s summer months. The operable roof has been desi­gned in sympathy with the clad­ding using pleated PTFE fabric and cables.

When its deployed, the roof operates like a sail to cover the oculus above the field of play and create a shel­tered envi­ron­ment for foot­ball during the summer. Passive design prin­ci­ples along with computer model­ling and wind tunnel tests were used to maxi­mise the effec­ti­ve­ness of the physical enclo­sure to ensure player and spec­tator comfort.

Tradition

Given the stadium’s context within the coastal city of Al Wakrah, the client asked that its design reflects the mari­time tradi­tions and history of the loca­tion, in parti­cular, the tradi­tional boat of the region, the dhow. ZHA responded with a design that incor­po­rates these cultural refe­rences in an abstracted manner and combines them with prac­tical responses to the climate, context and the func­tional requi­re­ments of a foot­ball stadium. The abstrac­tion trans­forms the literal into some­thing new and appro­priate for a foot­ball stadium; allo­wing multiple inter­pre­ta­tions of these cultural refe­rences both in terms of how they are applied and how they are read.

The stadium’s roof design is an abstrac­tion of the hulls of dhows turned upside-down and huddled toge­ther to provide shade and shelter. This is expressed in the stadium’s enve­lope geometry, details and selected mate­ria­lity, inclu­ding the roof’s beam struc­ture that echoes the inte­rior struc­ture of a d’how’s hull.

The facades of Al Janoub stadium are slanted outwards, tapered in eleva­tion and remi­nis­cent of the plea­ting of a dhow’s sails. The image of the dhow is further empha­sized through the large over­hang of the stadium’s eaves that incor­po­rates strips of metal clad­ding remi­nis­cent of the timber struc­tures used in a dhow.

Arabic motifs

The stadium’s opaque roof and wall areas are expressed as pleated cross sections. This feature, which has its origins in Arabic motifs and calli­graphy, adds texture to the outer shell and also empha­sizes the stadium’s unique geometry. The external clad­ding mate­rials are deli­bera­tely selected from a limited palette of mate­rials and choice of colours; namely white for the roof and wall clad­ding, and darker colours for the areas below the eaves, inclu­ding the lower level curtain walling with its orna­mental lattice screen print that provide shading.

The colour scheme for the external buil­ding enve­lope dove­tails with its geome­tric forms and rein­forces the arti­cu­la­tion of the outer skin. The roof clad­ding and opaque surface areas above the eaves are white or off-white in colour with a gloss surface finish that is remi­nis­cent of sea shells and empha­sizes the pleats which add texture to the buil­ding enve­lope. The embossed eaves and the lattice screen print of the glazed lower-level facades are metallic bronze in colour, adding a sense of rich­ness and depth to the design. The choice of a bronze metallic finish of these worked surfaces pays homage to the tradi­tions and arti­stry of Islamic craft­sman­ship.

Voids

Al Janoub stadium sits on a large land­scaped podium that takes visi­tors from grade to the entry level main entry concourse located at the middle of the seating bowl’s tiers. This podium connects the stadium into the adja­cent land­scape and reduces its scale. Large para­bolic voids within the podium signify diffe­rent acti­vity zones. On the eastern side, voids allow for the majo­rity of spec­ta­tors to arrive and depart from the stadium. The north eastern void will include a commu­nity market whilst the south eastern void hosts an acti­vity park. To the west, the para­bolic void within the podium allows for vehicle access and drop off at grade for the players, offi­cials and digni­ta­ries.

The stadium was desi­gned in conjunc­tion with a new precinct so that its sits at the heart of an urban exten­sion of the city, crea­ting commu­nity based acti­vi­ties in and around the stadium on non-event days. Al Janoub stadium will be a memo­rable venue and desti­na­tion during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup and after­wards, at the centre of its Al Wakrah commu­nity.

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