More than six years separates football lovers from the 2022 FIFA World Cup that will be held in the exciting Qatar. It is a very important period for the country and for the region. Today, we look at one of the stadiums that will be built for the occasion: Al Wakra Stadium.
Also known as Saoud bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani Stadium , Al-Wakrah SC Stadium is located in the region of Al Wakrah, a historic port city located 15 kilometers south of Doha and one of the oldest inhabited regions of Qatar.
Originally, it has a capacity of 12,000 seats but with the new renovation and proposed design by architect Zaha Hadid, it will be able to welcome more than 40,000 people.
Constructions for the new building have begun and the modern and innovative design has already been labeled as one of the most interesting constructions of all time.
The architecture of the building refers to the marine nature of the city and has a curved structure and coral-shaped stage and roof in form of shells. Zaha Hadid was also inspired with the wave-like form of the building by the local fishing boat of Qatar and national emblem known as the Arabian ‘dhow’.
The estimated cost of the project is around 300 million euros and the sports complex includes, in addition to a multipurpose room, a pool, a spa and a shopping center with green roofs, while the entrance to the stadium will be through a garden square.
The building also takes into account the country’s dry climate with the setup of cooling systems through the production of renewable energy.
With the stadium’s future use in mind, one other interesting aspect of the design is the inclusion of a modular second tier that will be dismantled after the World Cup. This will reduce the stadium’s capacity by half and the dismantled pieces will be of use to other developing countries at the same time!
