New York-based RAW-NYC Architects have revealed their design for a high-tech indoor soccer stadium that mimics the branches and roots of a tree.
Planned for Qatar, the new Aspire Indoor Soccer Stadium will house two soccer fields, reception areas, administration offices, a café, viewing gallery, sports store and locker rooms for players.
Each area is connected to a different element of a tree, with the main structure supported by a wide "trunk" and the roof, facades and interior enclosed within entwined "branches".
Light is able to filter through the branch-covered roof, filling the stadium with abundant natural light and creating an experience similar to that of being under the shady canopy of a tree.
The exterior branches also act as a solar skin, referred to as 'Solar Ivy', and, combined with passive cooling technologies, will help the stadium move towards a LEED certification.
Courtesy RAW-NYC Architects
