Images: Albert Speer & Partner GmbH
AECOM and Zaha Hadid Architects secure Al Wakrah Stadium contract for FIFA World Cup
Zaha Hadid Architects and AECOM have been selected to act as design consultants on the Al Wakrah Stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Stadium in Qatar. Located on a site 12 miles south of Doha, the stadium will hold 45,000 spectators during the international sporting event and be reduced to a capacity of 20,000 spectators after the FIFA World Cup has come to a close. The stadium will be designed by Albert Speer & Partner GmbH with AECOM and Zaha Hadid Architects as design consultants.
AECOM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John M. Dionisio commented: “We are delighted to be involved with the 2022 FIFA World Cup program and to support the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. This is an exciting time for Qatar, and our global team of forward-thinking sports experts is well equipped to meet the challenges that a project of this calibre demands.”
As with all new-build stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, sustainability is integral to this scheme. Cooling-technology systems will be integrated throughout with climate-control requirements for renewable energy production. Another fundamental element of the design is the incorporation of traditional Islamic architecture into an otherwise modern structure. Al Wakrah has a plethora of historical buildings, distinctive mosques and archaeological sites and these will be evidenced throughout the new stadium.
This week AECOM celebrated the opening of the 2013 Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens, a stunningly beautiful temporary structure designed in collaboration with Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The cloud-like form is comprised of thousands of solid steel rods topped with a canopy of clear polycarbonate discs which will shelter users from any summer rain.
It was revealed this morning that Harriet Eldred, a structural engineer at AECOM, has been awarded the prestigious Young Structural Engineer of the Year Award 2013 by the Institution of Structural Engineers for her work on the Serpentine Pavilion. Upon receiving news of the award, Harriet said: “I’m honoured to be awarded Young Structural Engineer of the Year. This project has been one of the biggest challenges of my career to date, both in terms of complexity and timescale but the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward.”