Beijing- and Los Angeles-based MAD Architects has started construction work on the 570,000 square meter Quzhou Sports Campus in China, where the architecture firm will help bring a cultural and recreational complex to life. The project is being developed in collaboration with PWP Landscape Architecture, EADG, and structural consultant Schlaich Bergermann Partner.

The large urban park includes a 30,000-person stadium, a 10,000-person gymnasium, a natatorium, outdoor auxiliary training grounds, athlete service and experience center, a science and technology museum, and “children’s place.”

The buildings designed to be embedded within the ground, according to the architects, “whereby the façade disappears into the terrain, covered by greenery so that it becomes the landscape itself.” 

The designers continue: “While contours engrave curves into the surface, some function as pedestrian walkways. Thus, the sloping façade naturally serves as a new place for citizens to engage in exercise, and offers the opportunity to ‘climb’ the architecture. The lawn also provides a place where people can relax after their sports, introducing a new public green space in the city.”

Construction recently began on the project. The first phase of the development is slated to be completed in 2021. Upon its completion, the architects report, the Quzhou Sports Campus will become the largest earth shelter building complex in the world.