Understanding the Saudi sports investment | The Listening Post

Saudi Arabia’s massive spending on sport is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy to diversify the petrostate’s economy and re-shape its brand....#AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #latestnews #media #newsheadlines #religion #saudiarabia #socialmedia #sports #thelisteningpost #youtube #ronaldo #neymar #benzema #kante #football #soccer #alnassr #pif #economics #premierleague #explainer #highlights #cristiano #mbs #mohammedbinsalman #megaprojects
Understanding the Saudi sports investment | The Listening Post

FIFA Frauen WM 2023

Die Fußball-WM 2023 in Autralien/Neuseeland live im ZDF. Exklusive Livestreams, Highlights, Liveticker, Infos rund um das DFB-Team und Hintergründe zur WM.#WM #Weltmeisterschaft #Highlights #Interviews #Analyse #Zusammenfassung #Tore
FIFA Frauen WM 2023

#photography

#highlights

(https://apnews.com/article/2022-photos-of-the-year-928cfe1089c6969527941c1310ad932a)

Annual added PV capacity will more than quadruple to 650 GW in 2030, says IEA

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its "World Energy Outlook 2022" report. It expects the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine to accelerate the global energy transition.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/10/28/annual-added-pv-capacity-will-more-than-quadruple-to-650-gw-in-2030-says-iea/
#policy, #highlights, #markets, #installations, #pv, #scale, #utility

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This #rose is interesting in that it changes #colour as it matures. The #petals start off completely #yellow but then acquire #lilac #highlights when they're in full #bloom.

#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #Nikon #D7000 #Summer #Garden #Horticulture

Swiss manufacturer unveils 500W solar module with 23.2% efficiency

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Megasol said the solar module relies on new back-contact technology that is able to reduce internal resistance, ohmic losses and cell spacing.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/04/swiss-manufacturer-unveils-500-w-solar-module-with-23-2-efficiency/
#manufacturing, #photovoltaic, #modules, #upstream, #r&d, #highlights, #technology

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Nifemi Marcus-Bello creates bamboo pavilion for Nigerian skateboarding brand

Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello has created a modular kiosk made from bamboo for Lagos-based skateboarding company Wafflesncream.

Called Waf Kiosk, the six-piece structure is currently located at the Wafflesncream (Waf) store in the Nigerian city, where it houses the brand's collection of skateboarding apparel.

Nifemi Marcus-Bello designed Waf Kiosk for a skateboarding clothing company

Marcus-Bello's design pays homage to Lagos' local streetwear sellers and the ways in which independent retailers have devised their own stores from which they sell.

"Leaning toward the evolution of the brand and its use of natural materials and tones, the idea was to design a space that would embrace a singular and humble material, in this case, bamboo," Marcus-Bello told Dezeen.

"While the kiosk is in use, clothes are hung above eye level to pay homage to 'Okrika' – Lagos' streetwear vendors who have created an architectural archetype to the selling of bootleg and secondhand clothing across Lagos," he added.

The modular pavilion can be arranged in different configurations

Waf Kiosk is built from tubular steel and bamboo – a sustainable plant that is known for its natural lightness and flexibility as well as its strength. The tubular steel was used to construct the frame of each modular structure, while the bamboo was used to wrap around the final design.

Marcus-Bello sourced the bamboo from Badagry, a coastal town that straddles the outskirts of Lagos and the northern bank of the creek stretching to Porto-Novo, in neighbouring Benin.

Marcus-Bello used bamboo for its lightweight qualities

The designer became interested in the material following a research trip to the Beninese captial where he saw that many shop and home frontages featured bamboo blinds called kosinlé.

He was particularly attracted to the "beautiful silhouette effects" the blinds had on the people behind them.

[

Read:

Nifemi Marcus-Bello's Tebur table is carried like a suitcase

](https://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/26/nifemi-marcus-bello-tebur-flat-pack-table-desk-furniture-design/)

"During a research trip to the Benin Republic, I was driving from the capital city Porto-Novo to Cotonou," Marcus-Bello explained.

"As we drove to the main road leading to Cotonou I noticed these locally made blinds used to cover the front of wooden kiosks that sold confectioneries and windows of the homeowners as well."

"I tracked down a local maker and bought two of the blinds and brought them to Lagos with me" he continued.

The kiosk can be carried to different locations in Lagos

The use of bamboo strips also means that the structure can easily be transported to different locations.

The six triangular structures can also be assembled into multiple variations, creating what Marcus-Bello calls "a variety of experiences" for shoppers.

Marcus-Bellow drew on Beninese blinds for the kiosk

"One thing that stood out to me in our conversation was the necessity for modularity for both form and functionality," the designer said.

"Using one, two or three pieces you can create different setups, which allows the brand to have two or three activations across the city during busy seasons."

"The final design is able to create a variety of setups allowing modularity in not just its form but its experience," he added.

The slatted bamboo is designed to create interesting silhouettes

Due to the bamboo's versatility, the material has been used to create pavilions all over the world.

Architecture studio Kengo Kuma and Associates built a pavilion with a textile roof supported by bamboo stalks at a temple in Kyoto, Japan, while artist Morag Myerscough installed a colourful bamboo structure in a park in London.

The photography is byJide Ayeni.

The post Nifemi Marcus-Bello creates bamboo pavilion for Nigerian skateboarding brand appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #design #highlights #installations #retail #bamboo #pavilions #kiosks #nigeria #lagos #popupshops #shops #nifemimarcusbello

"We'll be graduating smart, caring, compassionate activist students" says new head of Pratt undergrad programme

Architect Stephen Slaughter was recently named as the chair of undergraduate architecture at the Pratt Institute. In this exclusive interview, he explains how he aims to bring his ethos of activism and inclusion to the school.

"Our student body is the most important thing and the change they can make in the profession," he told Dezeen. "The change they can make in the world is what I consider paramount."

As chair of the programme, Slaughter will lead the department of 180 faculty and 700 students as one of the most high-profile Black academics in US architectural education.

At the Pratt Institute School of Architecture, he aims to continue his work pushing for diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI], which has been a core element of his time in academia, he said.

"DEI has been an integral part of who I am," he explained.

"My role as an educator and my role as a private citizen, and my role as designer, has always been to leverage my talents and my position to somehow bring benefit and value through design to the community I'm a part of and represent," he continued.

"These are the things that I'd like to be able to impart on Pratt."

Change students can make is "paramount"

Slaughter, who will take up the role in July, currently teaches at the University of Kentucky and the University of Cincinnati, and formerly at the Pratt Institute, where he was a visiting professor on the Graduate Architecture and Urban Design (GAUD) program.

While Slaughter will be focused on helping to enact change within the school, he believes the greatest impact he can have is through the change his students can make.

"I am a servant of the institute, and I'm the servant of the students and the faculty," he said.

"It takes one's own activism to make change"

His community-focused work has seen him collaborate with not-for-profits including Watts House Project and Elementz Hip Hop Cultural Art Center and he hopes that graduates from the Pratt Institute will contribute to improving communities.

"Academia is part of a larger social, civic, societal, cultural system and I think the larger system has issues that hopefully, we as educators can address through the education of the next citizens," said Slaughter.

[

Read:

MoMA curators pick five highlights from Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/03/30/moma-reconstructions-architecture-and-blackness-in-america/)

"It's a bigger problem than could be solved specifically through academia alone. It takes one's own activism to make change within culture and society," he continued.

"I hope that we'll be graduating smart, intelligent, caring, compassionate activist students."

"I'd like to have a Pratt grad building shiny new opera houses"

However, this does not mean that Slaughter expects all his students to end up designing solely community-focused projects. He hopes that graduates from the Pratt Institute will be able to bring his ethos of inclusivity to all projects they work on.

"I also like the idea that students will be interested in building the next shiny new opera house, it's just that that opera house will be different," he explained.

"I'd like to have a Pratt grad building shiny new opera houses and leveraging the experiences and the perspective to make that opera house inclusive and sustainable."

[

Read:

First 500 launches website that "elevates and celebrates" Black women in architecture

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/29/first-500-website-black-women-architecture-tiara-hughes/)

Slaughter was previously diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator for GAUD where he contributed to the Pratt's DEI strategic master plan. As head of the school's undergrad programme, Slaughter will have a key role in enacting many elements within the plan.

"One of the planks of the DEI strategic master plan is hiring and recruitment, as well as creating a welcoming environment," he said.

"These are the things I understand and want to set forward, as part of the mission for the school. And these are the things that I'll be following up on and expanding in my role as undergraduate chair."

"I was taught by a diverse array of professors"

Slaughter has a wide and geographically diverse career. A first-generation university graduate, he completed his undergraduate and masters at Ohio State University, where both his parents worked "as a way of affording me an education".

His experience at Ohio set the course for how he developed his career to focus on community and inclusion.

"I was taught by a diverse array of professors that influenced my opinion and my position in architecture today," he said.

[

Read:

Harriet Harriss named dean of Pratt Institute School of Architecture

](https://www.dezeen.com/2019/06/10/harriet-harriss-dean-pratt-institute-school-of-architecture/)

"Mabel Wilson, who's an amazing educator and writer was one of my professors, as were Jeff Kipnis, Peter Eisenman and Nathaniel Belcher," he added. "I had a wide variety of educators and academic perspectives."

From Ohio, Slaughter moved to California to work for Thom Mayne at Morphosis and lived in Los Angeles for several years, before returning to Columbus, Ohio, to help look after his sick father.

During this time he taught at the University of Cincinnati, which he said: "turned into a tenure track position and launched me as a dedicated educator".

"I feel like there's a commitment from the school"

Based in New York, the Pratt Institute is one of the best-known architecture schools in the US. It is led by British architect Harriet Harriss, who was made dean in 2019.

Slaughter took the role at the school as he believes that there is an appetite to tackle many of the issues surrounding the lack of diversity in both academia and the wider architectural profession.

"It's going to take commitment and I feel like there's a commitment from the school, from administration to the students," he said.

"Unfortunately, in both professional and academic career, I've been a part of more than a few initiatives that spin wheels and actually aren't interested in making a substantial difference," he continued.

"At Pratt, my colleagues in this effort were committed and that was the first time I've seen anything like that. It was more than invigorating to know that administration, staff, students, and faculty were committed."

In the US, as in many western countries, architecture is largely a white profession with Black architects making up only two per cent of the profession, compared to 14 per cent of the population.

American architect Tiara Hughes recently launched a website called First 500 to showcase the work of Black women architects working in the country.

The post "We'll be graduating smart, caring, compassionate activist students" says new head of Pratt undergrad programme appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #highlights #interviews #architectureanddesigneducation #prattinstitute #diversity

Six architecturally significant ski jumps from around the world

Two new ski jumps are hosting events at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. As the Games continue, we have rounded up the most significant architect-designed ski jumps from around the world, including structures by Zaha Hadid Architects and Julien De Smedt.

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Photo is by Marco Boella

Holmenkollen Ski Jump, Norway, by JDS Architects (2011)

Built on the historic Holmenkollbakken ski jumping hill in Norway, this distinctive ski jump is cantilevered 69 metres above the surrounding landscape.

Designed by JDS Architects founder Julien De Smedt, the structure is clad in an aluminium mesh and topped with a viewing platform so visitors can experience views across Oslo and the surrounding fjord.

Find out more about Holmenkollen Ski Jump ›

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Photo is by Hélène Binet

Bergisel Ski Jump, Austria, by Zaha Hadid Architects (2002)

The Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Bergisel Ski Jump (above and top), which overlooks the alpine city of Innsbruck in Austria, is perhaps the world's best-known architect-designed ski jump.

The ramp itself is supported by a concrete tower that is topped with a cafe and viewpoint.

"The structure's distinctive form – part tower/part bridge – and silhouette extends type topography of the ski slopes into the alpine ski," said the studio.

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Photo courtesy of Beijing 2022

Big Air Shougang, China, by TeamMinus (2019)

Built for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Big Air Shougang is the world's first permanent venue for skiing and snowboarding big air events.

Designed by Chinese studio TeamMinus, the colourful structure stands alongside four industrial cooling towers within the site of Beijing's largest former steel mills.

Find out more about Big Air Shougang ›

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Olympic Ski Jump, Germany, by Terrain:loenhart &mayr (2009)

Originally created to host the 1936 Winter Olympics, this ski jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was revamped by Munich-based architects Terrain:loenhart&mayr in 2007.

The studio replaced the previous structure with a cantilevered tower accessed by a diagonal elevator, with the building nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2009.

Find out more about the Olympic Ski Jump ›

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Photo courtesy of Beijing 2022

National Ski Jumping Centre, China, by TeamMinus (2020)

The second ski jump created for the Beijing 2022 Games was also designed by TeamMinus.

Named the National Ski Jumping Centre, the structure is topped with a disk-shaped form that has been likened to a UFO, round table or traditional Chinese sceptre. Within the disk is a circular viewing platform complete with panoramic restaurant.

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Photo is by Tim Meier

Lugnet Ski Jumps, Sweden, by Sweco Architects (2013)

This pair of ski jumps at the Lugnet sports complex in Sweden, which were built in 1974 for the World Cup Ski Championships, were refurbished by Uppsala-based Sweco Architects in 2013.

As part of the modernisation glass and steel railings, as well as lighting, were added to the weathering original steel structures.

Find out more about the Lugnet Ski Jumps ›

The post Six architecturally significant ski jumps from around the world appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #publicandleisure #highlights #skijumps #sports #roundups

Souhaïb Ghanmi uses animal bones instead of plastic for minimalist sockets and light switches

Waste bovine bones from the meat industry have been ground into a powder and turned into a collection of light switches and electrical outlets by ÉCAL graduate Souhaïb Ghanmi.

The Elos range features sinuous silhouettes modelled on different parts of the human skeleton, including a socket designed to resemble the head of a thigh bone that is capable of rotating in its baseplate like a hip joint.

The Elos collection encompasses sockets (above), switches and USB-charging ports (top image)

Matching light switches and USB charging ports are cast in moulds that reference the organic shape of a cross-sectioned femur but still resemble their conventional plastic counterparts.

By harnessing bone's natural properties as an electric and thermal insulator, the collection finds a renewed purpose for this age-old material, which was traditionally carved into tools or fired to create bone china.

The fittings are made from bone powder mixed with a bio-based binder

Ghanmi hopes that his project can help to break our reliance on fossil plastics while making a dent in the more than 130 billion kilograms of bone waste produced by slaughterhouses every year.

"This mineral material, which has no commercial value today, has been used for the manufacture of domestic objects by various peoples throughout history," he told Dezeen.

"In the past, bone was the equivalent of plastic, and nowadays plastic is one of the biggest ecological problems. It is therefore obvious to me to return to this primitive material to apply it to our daily lives."

Phones can rest on the protruding baseplate of the USB port while charging

Ghanmi came up with the idea for the collection after staying with his father's family in rural Tunisia during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, when a ritual animal is sacrificed and its meat split equally between family, friends and those in need.

The festivities allowed Ghanmi to witness first-hand the vast amount of biological waste – such as hooves, hides and tendons – that is generated in the process of slaughtering an animal.

"My uncle used to recover the bones after the festivities and make knife handles out of them," Ghanmi remembered. "Thanks to him, I became curious about this material, which before I considered as waste."

The sockets can rotate to protect cables from wear and tear

In Canada and the US – one of the most meat-fed countries in the world – farms and slaughterhouses generate more than 31 million tons of inedible animal by-products every year.

A large part of this ends up in landfills or incinerated, releasing greenhouse gases during decomposition or combustion.

Just over half, around 16 million tons, is processed into useful products by rendering companies. Here, the bones are cleaned, dried and crushed to make fuel, fertiliser, animal feed and gelatin.

[

Read:

Valdís Steinarsdóttir turns animal skin and bones into food packaging

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/01/27/valdis-steinarsdottir-food-packaging-vessels-animal-skin-bones/)

Ghanmi sourced the bone powder for his Elos collection from one of these rendering plants and mixed it with a bio-based binder.

As part of his research, the designer experimented with multiple different binder options, including bioresins and different glues made using bovine nerves and bone collagen.

"As I'm currently working on it for a possible development, I'm afraid I can't share specific details of the production," he said. "However, the aim is for the material to only use bones itself and for it to be durable and recyclable."

The light switches are modelled on the shape of a cross-section thigh bone

After being mixed with a binder, the material is cast into the desired shape in a process not dissimilar from the one used traditionally to create switches and sockets, which are compression-moulded using urea-formaldehyde (UF).

This thermosetting plastic does not remelt when exposed to heat, making it suited to use in electronics but at the same time exceedingly difficult and uneconomical to recycle.

In a bid to offer a circular alternative to this, Ghanmi is working on optimising the durability and recyclability of his bone composite so that it can be crushed back into a powder and formed into new products.

The protruding baseplate can also act as a cable reel

Certified for safety and performance, he says bone could be used to substitute plastic components in lighting and electronics, which would help to drive up the demand for animal by-products and create an increased financial incentive for keeping them out of landfills.

Alongside switching to regenerative agricultural practices and reducing meat production overall, this could ultimately help to create a more responsible way of farming livestock.

With a similar aim, Icelandic designer Valdís Steinarsdóttir has previously created vessels from animal bones and collagen that dissolve in hot water, while ceramicist Gregg Moore created tableware for a nose-to-tail restaurant in New York using waste bones from its kitchen.

The photography is byNoé Cotter.

The post Souhaïb Ghanmi uses animal bones instead of plastic for minimalist sockets and light switches appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #products #design #materials #technology #highlights #bones #écal #studentprojects #plugs #graduates

Ten striking buildings by Iranian studio Hooba Design Group

To mark Hooba Design Group winning the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2021 prize, we have rounded up ten projects by the Tehran-based architecture studio.

Hooba Design Group, which was founded by architect Hooman Balazadeh in 2007, was awarded the prize in recognition of its design for the Kohan Ceram Central Office in Tehran, Iran.

Chair of the RIBA Awards Group Denise Bennetts described the building as having "an architecture of restraint, invention and elegance".

"An uplifting and inspiring design, this project, as well as the Hooba Design Group’s collaborative approach to innovation, qualifies them as a worthy recipient of the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2021," Bennetts added.

Below, we've gathered ten notable examples of Hooba Design Group's work, many of which show the studio's expertise in creating innovative brick facades:

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff

The Hitra Office and Commercial Building, Tehran

This brick-clad office building in Tehran was given a scooped-out central void to bring light into the centre of the building.

Hooba Design Group used glazing for its two commercial floors while the upper five storeys, which hold offices, are clad in tiered layers of red brick. The exposed sides of the brick were painted turquoise to create a lenticular effect that gives the building a playful, fun feel.

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff – Deed Studio

Kohan Ceram Central Office, Tehran

This building, for which Hooba Design Group won the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2021 prize, is the headquarters of brick manufacturer Kohan Ceram (above and top image) and was built from bricks made in its own factory.

Some of the bricks, of a new type called "spectacle brick," have circular glass inserts. These were used to create geometric patterns across the building's facade, which is also broken up by narrow window slits.

The six-storey block houses offices, a reception area and showroom for Kohan Ceram as well as an apartment on the two upper floors.

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff and Mohammad Hasan Ettefagh

Aptus showroom, Karaj

Hooba Design Group created showrooms and administrative spaces for the Aptus concrete factory in the suburbs of Karaj, Iran, using the brand's own concrete.

The buildings were designed to connect the inside with the outside and comprise a series of one-storey volumes broken up by greenery.

At the entrance, a fish pond with a tiled floor and verdant plants add movement and colour to the grey concrete blocks that make up both the interior and exterior of the showrooms.

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff

Sharif office building, Tehran

This office building, designed for the Sharif University of Technology in Iran, features a smart brick facade sitting above panels with light sensors that allow them to adjust according to the sunlight.

Built atop an existing concrete structure that forms its ground floor, the facade was designed to match the 1940s-style bricks that clad the nearby university buildings.

"The intention was to reinterpret the traditional brick used in the university buildings, using industrial bricks," Hooba Design Group founder Balazadeh told Dezeen.

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Photo is by Mohammad Hassan Ettefagh

Building no 41, Karaj

Building no 41 was designed as a combination of a villa, apartments and commercial space. The building's commercial spaces will house a bookshop and a cafe for residents and has a balcony facing the trees on the adjacent street.

The upper floors hold two residential units, above which sit a duplex residence designed like a villa with a private yard.

Hooba Design Group used a combination of glass and brick for the facade, adding openings in the brick that create a lantern-like effect at night when the building is lit from within.

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Photo is by Danak Group

Tohid residential building, Tehran

The colourful Tohid residential building was designed to bring more green spaces to Tehran, where buildings often have openings on just two sides, leading to dense urban neighbourhoods with little connection to nature.

"The current infilled residential typology requires major reconsiderations to improve the living environment of the inhabitants," Hooba Design Group said.

In its Tohid project, the studio aimed to bring more greenery to the building by adding plants to transform the exterior into a "vertical garden" and creating a green roof where the residents can grow food. Traditional red bricks were used for the exterior and contrasted by green-blue glazed bricks used for the flower boxes.

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff

Ozgol residential, Tehran

The Ozgol residential building was built on a plot measuring 10 by 22 metres next to an "unbuildable" piece of land and designed for a single family. It has a guest unit on the ground floor and a duplex on the first and second floors.

Hooba Design Group used brick both as the base and the finishing of the exterior facades, as well as for the circulation corridors and voids through the whole building.

The studio added rotated bricks and layers of glass to some parts of the facade to let in more sunlight.

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Photo is by Khatereh Eshghi

Sepehr office and commercial building, Karaj

Hooba Design Group's design for the Sepehr building in the Mehrshar province of the city of Karaj features a three-dimensional facade made of limestone.

The vertical layers create a complex facade, whose volumetric fluctuations continue inside the building. Here, they create interior walls and define the boundaries of the space.

At the exterior, the layers of the facade continue to the top of the landscaped roof.

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff

Valiahdi Commercial Complex, Karaj

The Valiahdi office building, which sits in one of Karaj's busiest areas, is defined by its multidimensional facade. This was designed to create an intimate connection between the building itself and the surrounding cityscape and consists of a geometrical grid that was modified to optimise the viewing angles.

Hooba Design Group added stained glass, inspired by the Orosi glass patterns of traditional Persian architecture, to the windows. According to the studio, using double glazing with the patterned windows on the inside helps control the heat generated by the sun exposure on the building's southern side.

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Photo is by Parham Taghioff

Espriss Cafe, Tehran

The 28-square-metre Espriss Cafe is located in Tehran's Nejatollahi street and surrounded by small handicraft stores. Its brick exterior and interior was informed by the nearby Iranian Handicrafts Organization, which also has a brick facade.

Inside, the studio used small terracotta bricks that are partly glazed in a turquoise colour to create more interest. Hooba Design Group used 3D-modelling to create the layout of the bricks, starting from the pavement outside the cafe and continuing inside.

The post Ten striking buildings by Iranian studio Hooba Design Group appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #architecture #highlights #instagram #bricks #iran #roundups #tehran #hoobadesigngroup

SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles set to host Superbowl LVI

Architecture studio HKS has designed SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which is set to host this year's Super Bowl, as the home of American football teams the LA Chargers and LA Rams.

Built in the Inglewood area of Los Angeles, the stadium will host LA Rams when they play Cincinnati Bengals in Superbowl LVI on Sunday 13 February.

The recently opened SoFi Stadium will host Superbowl LVI

Completed in 2020 at a cost of $5.5 billion, the 70,000-capacity venue – which will be expanded to seat 100,000 for the Superbowl – is the most expensive stadium ever built.

It was designed by HKS for LA Rams-owner Stan Kroenke's development company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment to be an "entertainment destination".

It is topped with a large curved roof

"Mr Kroenke asked us to do two things: create an entertainment destination in the entertainment capital of the world, and architecture that embodied the spirit of southern California," said Lance Evans, director of sports at HKS.

"Our design team took that to heart; it led every decision on this building," he told Dezeen.

The roof covers the stadium, music venue and plaza

The stadium, along with a neighbouring 6,000-seat music venue and connecting plaza, was covered by a large roof that has the form of a "coastal wave".

"It's not just a stadium," explained Evans. "In fact, the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater and 2.5-acre American Airlines Plaza are also under that one massive, swooping roof, which also protects the NFL's largest stadium."

It is structurally separate from the stadium

Described by the studio as the NFL's "first indoor-outdoor stadium", the transparent roof was designed to give the venue the feel of an outdoor stadium, while being protected from the weather.

Supported on a series of columns, the roof is structurally separate from the seating bowl and made from a single layer of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) covered with a film to protect players and spectators from the sun.

The roof was designed to give the stadium the feel of an outdoor venue but benefits of an indoor one

"The roof never touches the stadium walls," explained Evans."It's completely free-standing, hovering above and around the massive venue."

"The roof is open on three sides, which allows for a fantastic ocean breeze to flow through the seating bowl."

The sunken seating bowl's capacity can be expanded to 100,000

The seating bowl itself was sunk into the ground by around 27 metres to reduce the building's height, due to the proximity of the LAX airport.

A large double-side screen is suspended from the roof to show replays and scores.

[

Read:

Super Bowl stadiums of the past, present and future

](https://www.dezeen.com/2018/02/01/super-bowl-stadium-past-present-future/)

"The ETFE roof amplifies sound in the stadium; it's electric when the fans are cheering," said Evans.

"The dual-sided videoboard technology is another key. As you enter it's at eye level. Everyone in the stadium can see and engage with the technology; there's no bad seat in the house."

A screen was hung from the roof

The stadium complex was built as the first stage of a 300-acre entertainment district called Hollywood Park, which will contain a hotel, shops and 3,000 homes.

It is set in a series of gardens, plazas and lakes designed by San Francisco-based Studio-MLA.

Landscaping around the venue was designed by Studio-MLA

Overall, Evans hopes that the venue will set a new standard for stadium design and change fans' perceptions of watching sports live.

"We hope that when fans walk in for the first time, they have a sense of wonder and excitement," said Evans.

"We want to change what fans think about an NFL stadium. We wanted to immerse fans in the overall game-day experience – to hear, see and feel the energy, from the lower bowl to the highest seats in the stadium."

The stadium was designed to improve fan experiences of live sport

SoFi Stadium is the latest stadium featured on Dezeen to host a Superbowl, which is the culmination of the National Football League (NFL) season.

In 2020 the Superbowl was hosted by the Hard Rock stadium in Miami Gardens, while the 2019 match took place in the HOK-designed Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The photography is by Nic Lexhoux.

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#all #architecture #publicandleisure #highlights #losangeles #sports #stadiums #americanfootball #superbowl

Team BLDG conceals sports park facilities in China under an artificial hill

Shanghai-based studio Team BLDG has completed a series of visitor facilities for a sports park in Pazhou, Guangdong province, with spaces carved out of an artificial concrete-walled mound.

Located alongside a paved promenade on the Pearl River waterfront, "The Earth" project combines a visitor reception, rest room, changing spaces, equipment store and public toilets.

In contrast to the dense urban developments that overlook the site, Team BLDG wanted the centre to foster a closer relationship with the landscape and water, which informed the creation of an artificial mound concealing the new spaces.

The artificial mounds were designed by Team BLDG and contain facilities for a sports park

"Starting with the existing landscape movement line, our design intends to meet two types of crowd activity: around and through the architecture," explained the studio.

"Therefore, we 'piled up' a naturally raised green space on top of the original landscape, then 'cut' through it with paths shaped like a cross."

"With the earth-covered construction, the architecture blends itself into the nature and becomes part of the original landscape of the sports park in a simple manner," it continued.

Named The Earth, the project is located along the Pearl River waterfront

Spaces are organised around the deep, diagonal cut through the mound, which creates a courtyard and small garden area at its centre that is accessed by steps and a ramp.

These paved pathways act as an extension of the existing waterfront routes, leading to a park to the east and sports courts to the west.

Visitor and staff areas are hidden within the artificial mounds

Toilet blocks wrap the north, east and west edges of this courtyard, while a larger block to the south houses the reception room, viewing platform and staff areas.

The concrete walls of these spaces extend upwards to create sheltered spaces atop their green roofs, which provide a continuation of the surrounding parkland.

[

Read:

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](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/03/05/team-bldg-factory-bathhouse-art-studio-exhibition-space-the-field/)

"The built-in functions of reception, rest, changing rooms and toilets respond to the needs of users from a more daily perspective," said the practice.

The interior of this courtyard has been clad with white terrazzo slabs to contrast the green landscape, emphasising its "cut-out" nature.

A central courtyard was finished in white

Internally, exposed concrete and brushed stainless steel have been used to create quiet and "sedate" spaces, emphasising the feeling of being in the earth.

"When people walk in from the noisy and hot outdoors, it creates a visual cooling effect," said the practice.

Interior spaces were designed to look minimal

At night, the hidden nature of the new spaces is reversed, with illumination from within the centre highlighting the artificial hill's cut-outs.

Other recent projects by Team BLDG include the conversion of a factory bathhouse into a skylit gallery and art studio in Xiamen.

The photography is byJonathan Leijonhufvud.

The post Team BLDG conceals sports park facilities in China under an artificial hill appeared first on Dezeen.

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(https://wtop.com/national/2022/02/what-to-know-about-super-bowl-56-from-cooper-kupp-to-eminem/)

If you also don't want to watch "Die Hard" as an endless replay at #Christmas then I have #3movies for you ...

1) An all-time favourite movie: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373469

It's not a typical Christmas movie but it is taking place at Christmas however in LA without snow. Not quite as bloody as "Die Hard" but there are multiple deaths. At the beginning, the plot is very confusing and tragically funny. But later everything clears up and comes together.

2) A current favourite movie: Better Watch Out - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4443658

Actually he is already too old for a babysitter but his parents get him one because they have to leave before Christmas. Since he is secretly in love with his babysitter he doesn't mind and plans a romantic evening with her. The evening turns into the opposite when someone tries to break into the house. There is a hostage situation and the romantic evening turns into a psychological drama.

3) Trash movie: Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3801438

Grumpy Cat is a famous meme. So they thought we'd take profit from that and make a movie out of it. Unfortunately, they got the target audience wrong and made a children's movie, whose plot is far too obvious and soft. The plot is like "Kevin Home Alone" but here it is a girl locked in the mall with the cat. However, I have found that with enough mulled wine, the movie is quite funny and entertaining after all.

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Do you want more? Click on the hashtag #3movies ...

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Demountable stadium built with shipping containers reaches completion in Qatar

Colourful shipping containers and a modular steel structure make up Stadium 974, which Fenwick Iribarren Architects has completed in Qatar ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

Formerly known as Ras Abu Aboud, the 40,000-seat sports venue near Doha's port is the first stadium designed to be fully demountable in FIFA World Cup history.

Fenwick Iribarren Architects has completed Stadium 974 in Doha

Stadium 974 was designed by Spanish studio Fenwick Iribarren Architects with structural engineers Schlaich Bergermann Partner and engineering consultancy Hilson Moran.

Its modular structure combines repurposed shipping containers and a steel structure, parts of which are recycled.

It is constructed partly from shipping containers

The aim is for the stadium to be dismantled and reassembled in a new location after the football tournament in 2022, or repurposed as a series of smaller venues.

Its modular design also reduced constructions costs, build time and material waste, and organisers said water efficiency methods ensure it will reduce water use by 40 per cent compared to a conventional stadium development.

The containers used are brightly coloured

Stadium 974 is named after the number of shipping containers used for its construction. The number 974 is also the country's international dialling code.

The shipping containers, many of which were used to transport construction materials to the venue, serve as a nod to Qatar's maritime history and the industrial heritage of the site.

It accommodates 40,000 spectators

While forming portions of the stadium's exterior, some of these steel containers contain staircases, concession stands and bathrooms.

According to the Supreme Committee for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (SC), Stadium 974 has been designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects to achieve the five-star certification in the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) for both its construction and design.

The stadium is designed to be naturally ventilated

GSAS rates green building and infrastructure across the Middle East and North Africa. Certification is available for the design, construction and operations of a structure, with six stars being the highest achievable rating.

The shape of the stadium and gaps between the seats facilitate natural ventilation, meaning artificial cooling is not required. This is helped by the stadium's proximity to the sea.

[

Read:

Foster + Partners-designed Lusail Stadium among eight completed Qatar World Cup venues

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/23/qatar-2022-world-cup-stadiums-roundup/)

The SC hopes also hopes the project will serve as "an innovative blueprint" for more sustainable stadium designs for future largescale events.

"The striking Stadium 974 is a proud symbol of sustainability and innovation," said SC chairman and engineer Yasir Al Jamal.

"We consider this innovative venue a game-changer for future mega-event hosts," added the SC's secretary-general ​​Hassan Al Thawadi.

Shipping containers are used as concession stands inside

The stadium will host its first match on 30 November. Other recently completed stadiums for the tournament include the Al Thumama Stadium by Ibrahim M Jaidah and the Education City Stadium that Fenwick Iribarren Architects also designed.

Stadium 974 is the only stadium positioned close to the sea and will also be the first stadium that football fans will see upon arriving in Qatar for the tournament, due to its proximity to Hamad International Airport.

A total of 974 shipping containers have been used

Elsewhere, recent architecture projects that have made use of repurposed shipping containers include a housing complex for the homeless in LA and a black holiday house in New York.

Other reversible buildings featured on Dezeen include Triodos Bank, a timber-framed office nestled in Dutch woodland, and the egg-shaped Tij Observatory in the Netherlands.

The post Demountable stadium built with shipping containers reaches completion in Qatar appeared first on Dezeen.

#publicandleisure #all #architecture #highlights #shippingcontainers #qatar #stadiums #doha #2022fifaworldcupqatar #reversibledesign #fenwickiribarrenarchitects

a message to you, rudy...

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The weekend read: PV resilience under fire

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The Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is embracing solar energy as a reliable local energy source. However, its 2 million residents still only have access to electricity for just a few hours per day. Amjad Khashmann reports on damages to installed PV systems and the urgent need for new installations to support education, water, and health care.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/07/24/the-weekend-read-pv-resilience-under-fire/
#markets, #gaza, #solar, #pv, #energy, #undp, #highlights, #systems, #strip

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Spain deployed 3.4 GW of solar in 2020

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Last year\'s newly installed PV capacity comes from 2.8 GW of ground-mounted PV and 596 MW of rooftop installations. Sustained growth is expected in 2021.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/07/16/spain-deployed-3-4-gw-of-solar-in-2020/
#photovoltaics, #plant, #pv, #markets, #highlights, #photovoltaic, #modules

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The weekend read: PV feed in, certified

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As more renewable energy capacity is built, commissioned, and connected, grid stability concerns are driving rapid regulatory changes. In the European Union, regulatory changes are now building momentum. As the first mover, Germany has shown that achieving compliance can initially seem burdensome, but it can quickly be integrated into existing processes and platforms.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/05/01/the-weekend-read-pv-feed-in-certified/
#assets, #policy, #renewable, #markets, #highlights, #pv, #energy

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