Populous’s $121 million revamp of French soccer stadium repurposes a fuselage for the facade
Kansas Town, Missouri-founded global sports and amusement venue structure agency Populous has exposed its programs for a major overhaul of Stade de la Meinau, a 26,280-ability professional soccer stadium in Strasbourg, the historic, Germany-bordering metropolis on the banks of the Rhine in northeastern France.
Longtime home to Ligue 1 club Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, the stadium was very first started in 1921 and expanded many times during the very first 50 percent of the 20th century, then wholly rebuilt during the lead-up to the France-hosted 1984 UEFA European Championship. The early 1980s reconstruction of the legendary Meinau observed its potential increase to just about 45,000 although the stadium’s plus-sized period was rather small-lived: Following a string of lethal fan stampedes in the ’80s, new security polices forced the city-owned stadium to restrict the standing-only terraces flanking the entirety of the pitch, a go that approximately halved La Meinau’s total ability and restricted the stadium from keeping sure key sporting gatherings.
1st announced in May of 2019, the Populous-led renovation (Atelier d’architecture Rey de Crecy is serving as the architect of record and OTE Ingénierie as undertaking engineer) won’t raise La Meinau’s capability again to its 80s-era significant. It will, on the other hand, boost the capability by 5,700 by means of new, removable seating tiers that carry enthusiasts closer to the pitch and a significant expansion of the stadium’s south stand finish with bars and “party decks.” The concourses of the 3 other stands—the west will continue being largely a standing terrace—will be enclosed and obtain a variety of new bars and eateries. A new supporter zone will also be formulated specifically outside of the stadium.
The most notable attribute of the revamped stadium will be an aluminum sunshade on the south facade composed of about 47,000 square toes of retired Airbus A340 fuselage sections. The addition of the upcycled fuselage facade—an evident first—is section of a largely sustainable scheme carried out by both equally the town and RC Strasbourg that aims to lessen the total of demolition squander generated by the enormous undertaking.
A bulk of the waste that is eventually developed through dismantling sections of the current stadium and its stands will be included into the new construction. Other sustainability-minded updates to La Meinau are established to contain a massive photovoltaic array covering the roof of the expanded south stand a rainwater harvesting procedure a link to a biomass-powered heating community, and additional.
Detailing that “sustainability has been key to our style approach,” Francois Clement, senior principal at Populous, additional in a assertion that: “The renovation of La Meinau will bring Racing Club de Strasbourg’s supporters closer to the pitch in an environmentally managed improvement.”
Function on the around $121 million renovation is envisioned to kick off in the spring of 2022 and wrap up in the summer months of 2025.
As observed by the business, which maintains European workplaces in London and Milan, La Meinau is the newest of quite a few important initiatives in France which include Parc Olympique Lyonnais (Groupama Stadium), which was completed in 2016, and the master plan, with French infrastructural organization Egis Group, Paris’s successful bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.