ARCHITECTURE
“Instead of stand-alone, highly-controlled buildings,,
Matt Rossetti, president, Rossetti
During the last thirty years we’ve compared sports
venues to cathedrals in their ability to catalyze people
for special events. In the next twenty years, we’ll see
the complete opposite. Instead of stand-alone, highlycontrolled
buildings, sports venues will become
contextual to their surroundings and fully integrate
into communities. Sports venues will weave into the
fabric of daily city life. There will be a constant flow
in and out of the buildings, becoming truly multifunctional
by infusing hospitality and civic uses into
the program. Venues will be ubiquitous and used by all.
As venues become more porous and informal, the
seating bowl, and particularly the upper bowl, will
deconstruct to allow for multiple ways of viewing and
engagement that we haven’t even thought of yet.
I believe as we balance design for both mobility and
connection, we’ll get to a point where venues will have
only two thirds or even half the seats for the population
in attendance.
In addition, modular facilities of all sizes will allow
sports design to be much more nimble. Modular will
increase event flexibility and sustainability, particularly
as the climate affects communities. Pop-up activation
will either replace or complement brick and mortar
infrastructure. Modular will spur new opportunities
to maximize real estate investment and accommodate
new forms of entertainment that we’re not aware of yet.
It will give smaller communities access to
professional sports venues, grow young talent and
evolve facilities organically alongside mixed-use
developments. This is in contrast to the traditional
‘build it and they will come’ mentality.
A temporary stadium
was built to host the
latest Miami Open
sports venues will become contextual to their.
surroundings and fully integrate into communities”.
Matt Rossetti
www.stadia-magazine.com Showcase 2020 67
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