Archinect - News

Zaha Hadid's Al Wakrah 2022 FIFA World Cup Stadium in Qatar inaugurated

2019-06-03T15:41:00-04:00

With the first big kick-off for the 2022 FIFA World Cup still more than three years away, the Zaha Hadid/Aecom-designed Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar recently hosted its inaugural soccer match with 40,000 fans and royal family members in attendance.

The stadium—not entirely uncontroversial since its conception in 2013—is the second fully operational venue for the 2022 tournament, following the Khalifa International Stadium redevelopment, and the first newly built site to host games for the 32 participating teams from November 21 through December 18, 2022.

Image courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects.

"The client’s brief called for a 40,000-seat football stadium for the 2022 World Cup which could be reduced to a 20,000-seat capacity in its legacy mode following the tournament," explains the project description from Zaha Hadid Architects.

"20,000 seats is the optimum capacity for legacy use as the home ground to Al Wakrah Sport Club professional football team of the Qatar Stars nat...

Zaha Hadid's Al Wakrah 2022 FIFA World Cup Stadium in Qatar nears completion

2018-11-29T14:36:00-05:00

Work is progressing on the late Zaha Hadid-designed Al Wakrah stadium in Qatar, as documented in newly released footage by the organization tasked with the construction of all venues and the necessary infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The 40,000-seat stadium will be one of eight venues across the small Gulf nation to host games for the 32 participating teams from November 21 through December 18, 2022.

Rendered vision & current construction progress. Image courtesy of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Initially unveiled in 2013, the Al Wakrah Stadium project has attracted worldwide praise as much as ridicule for its organic design and also found itself at the center of allegations of workers and human rights abuses, as reported by Amnesty International and the International Trade Union Confederation.

Image courtesy of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Image courtesy of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Le...

Zaha Hadid: 'Qatari situation' doesn't apply to her stadium site

2016-02-02T13:32:00-05:00

In an interview with The Times, Dame Zaha Hadid said that the Qataris “should do something” about the issue of migrant workers. [...] “I’m not a defender of the Qatari situation, but it’s important to get the facts right and then we can discuss it. I’m very happy that the press make the government aware of problems on certain sites. But it doesn’t apply to this site.”

To read the full (paywalled) The Times interview with Dame Hadid, click here.

Previously in the Archinect news:

A Memorial for the Workers Dying While Constructing the Qatar World Cup Stadium

2014-12-18T15:22:00-05:00

The Qatar World Cup Memorial project is a scalable building that raises awareness about the number of workers who died during the construction of the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It is in the form of a tower made of concrete modules, each one representing a deceased worker. The higher the number, the higher the tower...If the death rate is not reduced, the Qatar World Cup Memorial could reach a height of 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile).

1W1P – 1Week1Project – is a collaborative effort by French architects Axel de Stampa and Sylvain Macaux, graduates of l'Ecole d'Architecture in Paris-Belleville. They challenged themselves to produce a "spontaneous architecture" per week for a year, or fifty-two projects. At this point, they have produced 25 predominately-speculative projects, from this memorial to the workers who have died (and are continuing to die) while constructing the World Cup Stadium for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to an ephemeral installation for the interior of the Eiffel Tower that would light up every time someone used #eiffeltower on social media.

With the Qatar World Cup Memorial, they invoke the memories of the more than 500 foreign workers who have died in the country since 2012. While Zaha Hadid, designer of the World Cup Stadium in Qatar, has become the subject of controversy for alleged statements rejecting an architect's responsibility for conditions on their projects, 1W1P proposes a distinctly d...

More Bad News with Hadid's Qatar Stadium

2014-07-30T15:02:00-04:00

Migrant workers building the first stadium for Qatar's 2022 World Cup have been earning as little as 45p [≈75¢] an hour, the Guardian can reveal [...] More than 100 workers from some of the world's poorest countries are labouring in ferocious desert heat on the 40,000-seat al-Wakrah stadium, which has been designed by the British architect Zaha Hadid [..]

This is just the most recent in a slew of bad PR for the British-Iraqi architect. Earlier, she was rebuked for asserting that architects have neither power over nor responsibility for the conditions of workers on their buildings. She won the 2014 Design Museum award for a building in Azerbaijan that has been criticized for both its construction practices and more generally for being a symbol of support for the country's dictatorial leader. Her designs for a new stadium in Tokyo were called too big, too expensive, and inappropriate for its urban context. And the awarding of the Iraqi Parliament project to her was also met with controversy (the emerging Islamic State is probably threatening the viability of the project anyway).

Still, ZHA don't seem to have any trouble finding clients!

Zaha Hadid defends Qatar World Cup role following migrant worker deaths

2014-02-26T19:11:00-05:00

"I have nothing to do with the workers," said Hadid. "I think that's an issue the government – if there's a problem – should pick up. Hopefully, these things will be resolved." Asked if she was concerned, Hadid added: "Yes, but I'm more concerned about the deaths in Iraq as well, so what do I do about that? I'm not taking it lightly but I think it's for the government to look to take care of. It's not my duty as an architect to look at it.

Zaha Hadid Says Al Wakrah World Cup Stadium Doesn't Resemble Vagina

2013-11-25T12:05:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid, the world’s best-known female architect, is none too pleased with critics like Jon Stewart, who have mocked her Al Wakrah Stadium—designed with AECOM for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—and likened her to the “Georgia O’Keeffe of things you can walk inside.” “It’s really embarrassing that they come up with nonsense like this,” Hadid tells TIME exclusively. “What are they saying? Everything with a hole in it is a vagina? That’s ridiculous.”

Previously: Unnecessary Muffness; Jon Stewart discusses Zaha's "f**kable buildings"

Unnecessary Muffness; Jon Stewart discusses Zaha's "f**kable buildings"

2013-11-20T17:26:00-05:00

"designed by famed architect Zaha Hadid whose signature style appears to be making some of the world's most f**kable buildings...like Georgia O'Keeffe of things you can walk inside...i guess maybe it is time things evened out a bit" - Jon Stewart

Last night on The Daily Show, they offered a critique of Qatar's recently released plans for the Al Wakrah 2022 FIFA World Cup Stadium, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The show goes on to label the proposal one of the world's most f**kable soccer stadiums. Also while reporting in, on assignment Al Madrigal is unable to find the "press box".