US sports architects HOK and Spanish practice TAC Arquitectes have won the tender to design a new multi-sports arena for Barcelona FC.
The duo were chosen by the jury ahead of five other contenders, including MAKE, Dominique Perrault Architecture and Wilkinson Eyre.
Among other sporting facilities, the New Palau Blaugrana will feature a basketball court, an ice rink and a new home for the club’s football academy, FCB Escola.
The tender jury was formed by five members of the Barcelona FC hierarchy, three designers from local architects' association Collegi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya and one member of Barcelona City Council.
“The bid by HOK + TAC Arquitectes is remarkably innovative with its concept of a multi-functional Palau, and is also outstanding for its permeability, flexibility and personality,” said the jury in a statement. “With organic geometry, it offers a fine sequence between the Palau, annex court, ice rink and the FCB Escola facilities.
“From now, the winning team shall be working together with the Barça technical teams and the council to make further specifications and work further on the integration of the new installations with the club's other developments and the city.”
The arena will have three independent areas: a multi-purpose 10,000-capacity pavilion, an auxiliary court with a capacity of 2,000 and an ice rink.
The main venue will meet the requirements of basketball's Euroleague and will host matches for Barcelona FC’s basketball offshoot. It will feature 18 VIP boxes and two ‘skybars’ with views of the court, one of which can also function as a restaurant. Spectator seats will be arranged close to the court to create a lively atmosphere.
“Our design creates an organic building geometry that supports a seamless progression between the New Palau, the annex court, the ice rink and the FCB Escola academy training facilities,“ said John Rhodes, a director of HOK. “We’re excited about the benefits that this project will bring to FC Barcelona and to this cosmopolitan city.”
The design for the project will be officially unveiled at a public event to be held over the next few weeks. Construction work is expected to start in the 2017/18 season and end in the 2019/20 season.
The New Palau Blaugrana is part of a wider scheme to transform the club’s facilities. An announcement will soon be made on the winner of the project to design
a €600m (US$670m, £436m) redevelopment of the club’s iconic Nou Camp stadium, increasing its capacity from 98,000 to 105,000.AECOM, Bjarke Ingels Group and Nikken Sekkei are among the architects who have bid for that tender.
HOK has designed many international stadiums, and is
currently developing the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for National Football League franchise the Atlanta Falcons.
