Barcelona pick top design to expand ‘new’ Camp Nou to 105,000 capacity
BARCELONA: Barcelona have selected a design tender from Nikken Sekkei + Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes for the redevelopment of Camp Nou.
The club said the proposal stood out for being “open, elegant, serene, timeless Mediterranean and democratic.”
The overall tender was for a new Camp Nou and Palau Blaugrana. The project will increase capacity to 105,000.
Work on the new Camp Nou is scheduled to start in the 2017-18 season and end in the 2021-22 campaign.
In a statement the club added: “It is also notable for its relationship with the environment, providing depth, creating shadows and making members the stars of the facade and of the open area at all times.
“The proposal presents a very subtle attempt to intervene in the environment to facilitate circulation and achieve diverse urban usage in the Barça Campus and guarantees a clear and safe construction.
“In short, it is a unique solution, reproducing the characteristic vision of the grandstand and canopy, from the inside out, a silent and powerful tribute to the stadium built by Francesc Mitjans in 1957.”
A two-stage tender process was launched last June and attracted an initial 26 applicants for the Camp Nou project. This was reduced to eight in September, with Barcelona making its final choice to discard proposals put forward by AECOM and B720 Arquitectes; AFL and Mateo Arquitectura; Arup Sport and Taller d’Arquitectura Ricardo Bofill; BIG, IDOM and BAAS Arquitectes; Gensler Sport and OAB; HKS, Cox and Batlle i Roig Arquitectes; and Populous, Mias Arquitectes and RCR Arquitectes.
Barcelona’s members voted to back the redevelopment project in April 2014, in what was only the second referendum in the club’s 115-year history.
The referendum came after Barcelona’s board of directors threw their support behind redeveloping the iconic Camp Nou rather than building a new stadium.
Camp Nou, which first opened in 1957, has a current capacity of 98,888. Through the redevelopment the historic stadium will be expanded to a final capacity of around 105,000.
It will continue to consist of three tiers, with the first tier being completely rebuilt to offer greatly enhanced views, the second tier granted cosmetic upgrades and the top tier being extended to encompass the west side of the stadium.
All seats will also be covered, with a roof only existing on one side of the stadium at present.
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