Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled their competition-winning design for the Hangzhou International Sports Center in China. The complex will be anchored by a 60,000-seat football stadium, while also holding a 19,000-seat indoor arena, an aquatics center with two 164-foot-long pools, and practice pitches.

The 1.45 million-square-foot stadium is connected to the indoor arena and aquatics center via a central podium. Inspired by tea farms on Hangzhou’s surrounding hillsides, the weaving, terracing podium also houses the sport center’s ancillary facilities including training and fitness halls, locker rooms, shops, offices, restaurants, and cafes.

The louvered façade of the main stadium seeks to become more porous than traditional solid stadiums, while the configuration of the seating bowl aims to bring spectators “as close as possible” to the field of play, creating what the design team calls an “intense matchday atmosphere for players on the pitch and fans seated throughout the stadium.” The seating bowl form is also translated on the exterior through undulations within the louvered façade.

“The stadium’s louvred façade blurs the boundary between interior and exterior,” the firm says. “The louvres’ materiality and detailing give the stadium a stratified, geological appearance of solidity when views from nearby. When viewed from a distance, the louvred façade becomes transparent, connecting the public spaces beneath the stadium’s seating bowl with the city.”

Across the podium, the 19,000-seat indoor arena is designed to accommodate sporting occasions such as basketball as well as large music and cultural events. Meanwhile, the aquatic center will incorporate two indoor pools with a spectator capacity of 800 people.

The scheme’s sustainability considerations include photovoltaics, natural hybrid ventilation, and ground heat exchange and recovery systems for all venues. The composition of the stadium’s external louvers was also informed by an annual solar irradiation analysis.

The center’s landscaping will include riverside wetlands that link to a district-wide drainage network, while rain and grey water will be collected and channeled through the site for filtration and reuse. Contaminants in the water will be removed with the aid of native aquatic flora and fauna. The team also states that local supply chains and procurement systems have been developed to increase recycled and recyclable materials in the scheme.

“In contrast to the single-use programming of most large stadiums that only welcome visitors on match days and act as an obstruction to the city’s urban fabric when not in use, the many varied sporting, recreational and leisure facilities of Hangzhou International Sports Center, in addition to its public plazas and riverfront park, ensure the center will be a popular gathering place for its community throughout each day and evening,” the team added.

Zaha Hadid Architects’ scheme is the second Chinese stadium to feature in our editorial in October after MAD Architects completed work on the first phase of their Quzhou Sports Park. Earlier this month, we spoke with MAD founder Ma Yansong on the firm’s vision behind the project as well as his own views on architecture and urbanism.

Also in China, Zaha Hadid Architects recently began construction on their meandering Jinghe Art Center, with a groundbreaking ceremony in September. Elsewhere, 2022 has seen ZHA complete work on one of Zaha Hadid's final designs before her death, with the opening of a high-tech headquarters for BEEAH Group in Sharjah, UAE.