Worlds Most Eco-friendly Sports Stadiums

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Sustainability is one of the top priorities these days in the field of architecture. Architects from all around the world are coming up with highly engineered structures combined with many sustainable features, and sports stadiums are no exception. Lately, we have seen sports stadiums from different cities going green and moreover, most of the new designs being proposed for the sports stadiums all around the globe are green in a way or the other. Here we have a delight for all the eco conscious sports fans – a list of world’s most beautiful, eco-friendly sports stadiums.

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• Garden Stadium:

garden stadium

China’s Dalian Shide Stadium will get new life with the green refurbishment that it will get from Cox Architects. This proposal of redesigning the old stadium will give birth to a new and improved stadium that will be known as the Garden Stadium. It is designed to emulate a garden with green walls, which filter air, reduce greenhouse gases and also provide an adequate level of insulation. The new stadium will offer spectacular views across the ocean and out to the mountains and the center city. The roof of the stadium is a flexible system of cables and fabric, which reduces its overall environmental impact. The walls are clad with living plants that change their appearance depending on the seasons. On the inside the walls feature giant LED panels, which are powered by wind turbines and solar cells installed on the walls, roof and the site.

• Nationals Park:

nationals park

The Nationals stadium, the present ballpark for the Washington Nationals is here to make a difference with its eco-friendly credentials. Dubbed the Nationals Park, the $611 million baseball stadium includes energy-efficient lighting, low-flow water features, and a 6300 square foot green roof that covers the concession area. Other interesting features embrace a water filtration system built directly underneath the stadium, which is made using sand filters pollutants from the water. The unique filtration system also separates water used for cleaning the ballpark from rainwater that falls on the ballpark, treating both sources before releasing all the water to the sanitary and storm water systems.

• The World Games Stadium:

world games stadium

Designed by renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the World Games Stadium has a fascinating snake roof giving a dragon like feel. Not only is the roof aesthetically pleasing, but it also displays green aspects with the solar panels that cover the roof. The energy produced by the panels powers the entire stadium, in addition to getting some money from selling surplus power to Kaohsiung. This one is one of the very noticeable stadiums in the world.

• Incheon Stadium:

incheon stadium

After designing next-gen architecture that will serve as sustainable futuristic residences, architects are now working on ways the gaming arena can be made green. Populous and Heerim Architects and Planners have come up with the master plan for the Incheon Stadium in South Korea that will host the 17th Asian Games in 2014. The adaptable stadium will have a seating capacity of 70,000 for the Asian Games and will transform into a 30,000 seat stadium and a public park after the games are over. The design will be linked to the surrounding parklands to make it an open, accessible building for the visitors.

• Melbourne Rectangular Stadium:

melbourne rectangular stadium

The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium that combines state-of-the-art engineering with sustainability has a bubble-like façade and is expected to be completed in 2010. Designed by Cox Architects, the stadium will have enough space to seat about 30,000 spectators and features a unique cantilever design, which coupled with a triangular panelized façade uses 50% less steel than a typical cantilevered roof structure. The envelope will be composed of a combination of glass, metal and louvers, and the architects are planning a photovoltaic thin-film integration that will help power the stadium’s LED lighting units. The dome will also feature a rainwater harvesting system, natural lighting and natural ventilation to lower the structure’s dependence on grid electricity.

• Franco Sensi:

franco sensi

Gino Zavanella just recently unveiled the blueprints of a new stadium in Rome, dubbed theFranco Sensi, and it is wholly studded with solar panels. Here, you could see the blast messages batting an eyelid via a LED screen when the game is on. Catering to the Italian soccer fans, the Gau arena in Rome will also have an integral museum highlighting the exploits of Rome’s soccer team. n addition, you will see it equipped with the basic modern facilities like restaurants, lounges, and bars complementing its regular seating. The highly efficient solar photovoltaic panels will hinge on a peripheral zinc-titanium membrane shell. There will be another water-resistant layer allowing 80% of all light to pass through it.

• Tokyo Olympic Stadium:

tokyo olympic stadium

While the IOC just one day away from announcing the winning city that will host the 2016 Olympics, the Tokyo 2016 Bid Team has announced that the Tokyo Olympic Stadium will cater to the environment, as it will be the first of its kind to be powered entirely by solar energy. The bid also includes the renovation of several existing sporting facilities that will reduce demand for new materials and new structures that can have a negative effect on the ecosystem. Apart from providing green power, the stadium will also be offering the most compact games plan in history, with 97% of venues within an 8km radius of the Olympic Stadium and Olympic village located in the center of Tokyo.

• New Meadowlands Stadium:

new meadowlands stadium

The New York Giants, New York Jets and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have joined to make the New Meadowlands Stadium one of the greenest sports venues come 2010. A former brownfield site will soon see a stadium that will incorporate the use of 40,000 tons of recycled steel, environmentally friendly concrete and seating made partially from recycled plastic and scrap iron. Special heed will be to aspects like energy efficiency and water consumption. As far as the concession plates, cups and trays are concerned, all of them will be made from eco-friendly material. In order to mitigate the harmful effects of carbon emissions on the environment, all the vehicle used during construction will be run on cleaner diesel fuel.

• 2014 Winter Olympic Stadium:

2014 winter olympic stadium

The main stadium for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in Sochi, Russia will be designed by Populous. The stadium with a seating capacity of 40,000 is expected to incorporate sustainable features like a shimmering crystalline skin, which will be translucent during the day and come alive at night with color and spectacle of the game. The eco-stadium is expected to include features like advanced material technology, lightweight structures, day lighting and natural ventilation. It will turn out to be one of the most stunning eco-stadiums in the world.

• Shanghai Stadium:

shanghai stadium

The Shanghai Stadium will serve as one of the Football venues for the 2008 Games. Built in 1997, the stadium covers 380,000 square meters with a seating capacity of 80,000 and now the stadium has been awarded two million yuan (US$273,972) by the Xuhui District government for its environmental protection achievements. The stadium previously had two 28-meter chimneys with three boilers consuming 2,500 tons of oil every year. It began a three-year plan for environmental improvement last year and the chimneys have been rebuilt and the three boilers converted. Hope other stadiums follow the same lines and play green!

• London 2012 Olympic stadium:

london 2012 olympic stadium

Designed by HOK Sport and Peter Cook, the London 2012 Olympic stadium will create waves with its sustainable design. Material that will have a low impact on the planet will go into the construction. The lean, compact and lightweight stadium will include a façade wrapped in environmentally friendly hemp. The materials that will go into making this amazing eco-stadium recycled polymer based fabric and hemp.

• Cowboys Stadium:

cowboys stadium

Cowboys Stadium is a domed stadium with a retractable roof in Arlington, for the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys. Designed by the Dallas-based architectural firm HKS, the $650 million stadium is all set to become the first sports venue accepted into a federal program for environmentally friendly buildings. The stadium will be constructed aiming to reduce solid waste by 25%, energy use by 20% and water consumption by 1 million gallons annually. Green credentials that the eco-stadium will boast are use of native trees and plants, purchases of some renewable energy, and use of recycled plastic in seats and the playing field.

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