Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre in Guangzhou, China, featuring a series of curved stadiums designed to accommodate a range of sporting and cultural events.
Nestled within a 70-hectare waterfront park in Guangzhou’s Nansha district, the complex consists of a 60,000-seat stadium, a 20,000-seat arena for basketball and indoor activities, and a 4,000-seat aquatic centre equipped with both a swimming pool and a diving well.
The site also features accommodation for athletes, as well as outdoor training pitches and tracks that serve schools in the surrounding region.
For this project, Zaha Hadid Architects collaborated with the Guangdong Architectural Design and Research Institute (GDAD), a local studio, to create a venue that will host both sporting competitions and cultural events.
“Providing the essential infrastructure for competitive athletes, including those participating in all track and field events, the centre’s design optimises Nansha’s warm winters to create the ideal outdoor training facilities and conditions to foster future legacies,” said Zaha Hadid Architects.
The design for the curving buildings was inspired by the hulls of traditional sailing ships from the Song Dynasty.
The buildings feature vertical louvres along their facades, providing shade and helping to regulate the internal temperature.
Drawing from the local Lingnan architectural style, the centre incorporates sheltered spaces that passively cool and ventilate the interiors during Guangzhou’s humid subtropical summers, including the stadium’s distinctive roof.
