Photos reveal Zaha Hadid Architects stadium nearing completion in Guangzhou

Architecture studio Zaha Hadid Architects has released construction photos of the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre, a sporting complex with a 60,000-seat stadium nearing completion in China.

Set to open in June, the multi-venue complex sits in a 70-hectare park in Guangzhou's Nansha district and will host the China National Games in November.

Zaha Hadid Architects developed the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre in collaboration with local studio Guangdong Architectural Design & Research Institute (GDAD) to serve as "an anchor" for an upcoming district within the Greater Bay Area – a megalopolis in southern China.

Alongside its 60,000-seat stadium, the complex includes a 20,000-seat basketball arena and a 4,000-seat aquatics centre with a 50-metre-long swimming pool and diving facilities.

Greater Bay Area Sports Centre will be characterised by Zaha Hadid Architects' signature sweeping forms, which in this project will nod to Song dynasty-era sailing ships.

"The fluid forms of the centre's architecture echo the tapering geometries evident in the hulls of the region's traditional sailing ships that were initially designed during the Song dynasty approximately a thousand years ago," said the studio.

"These historic vessels established the Pearl River as China's leading centre of global trade."

According to the studio, the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre also draws on local Lingnan architecture designed in line with the region's subtropical climate, with sheltered outdoor spaces that are naturally ventilated.

Other details that will define the network of buildings include vertical louvres on the facades, designed to shade and cool the buildings.

Meanwhile, the stadium will have a layered roofscape modelled on traditional Chinese silk fans, sheltering spectators from rain and sunlight. The seating bowl will be adaptable to suit different performances.

A large arch puncturing the stadium's facade will allow cool sea air to enter while providing outward views that create "a direct connection between all spectators and the stadium's riverside setting".

Zaha Hadid Architects' Construction of the Greater Bay Area Sports Centre began on 31 August 2023 and was commissioned by the Nansha District Bureau of Culture & Sports.

While providing venues for sporting events, the complex will also be open to the community, with facilities for local schools and sports clubs. The complex will be complete with athlete accommodation, training pitches and running tracks.

The park in which the complex is located has been landscaped to manage excess water and prevent flooding.

Zaha Hadid Architects was founded in 1979 by the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. Today, the studio is led by Patrik Schumacher, who recently claimed that "woke virtue-signalling" is destroying the profession.

Elsewhere, the studio is currently developing a starfish-like cultural centre in Italy and recently completed a convention centre in Beijing with copper-coloured curves.

The photography and video are by CR Land.

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