Futur Camp Nou, the football stadium that opens to all

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Since its birth almost 60 years ago, the Camp Nou, the home stadium of FC Barcelona, has always been loved by the people of Barcelona. However, needs have arisen in recent years to expand seating capacity, build a roof, improve accessibility, and renew the aging facilities. A design competition to renovate the facilities was held, and in March 2016 the joint proposal by Nikken Sekkei and Joan Pascual-Ramon Ausió Arquitectes was selected. “While retaining the essence of the original stadium, we wanted to create a new form that fits the current age. In designing the proposal, we asked ourselves the question: what is important to the people of Catalonia?” recalls Takeyuki Katsuya, who spearheaded the design effort.

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An open stadium that invites activity

FC Barcelona is a club owned by its “socis” which are the members of the Club. The Club is operated by an Executive Committee that is elected democratically by the Socis. Respecting this democratic system, we looked at Camp Nou, not merely as a stadium that is owned by a football club, but as a highly public structure that is open to the citizens of Barcelona.
 As is often seen in stadium architecture, we first tried to incorporate a sense of FC Barcelona in the façade design. However, having been to Barcelona and had contact with the climate and people there, we began to feel that it would be a lost opportunity to not enjoy the precious and balmy Mediterranean climate. Therefore, we came up with the bold idea of actually removing the façade in order to make the stadium more “open”.
By removing the façade, the triple level concourse overlooking the external becomes a pleasant space where people can feel the outside breezes. The proposed design resulted in the concourse being about 20m wide; a semi-outdoor space covered by over-sailing eaves above, which has cafes and bars. Currently, the concourse is just a passageway, however, we think that our design proposal will make it a public space where people can linger, generating various activities before and after the match.
The open terrace will afford panoramic views of the city, but the activities of the people on the terrace can also be seen from the city. This visual interconnection between the stadium and community, will lend another public aspect to the stadium.

A surrounding public space respecting the relation with the community

The Stadium has a significant impact on the residential area it resides in and on those who live there. With this in mind, we created an architectural intervention that respects this association with the community in terms of the building and its surrounding public space and amenity. The area around the stadium is designed to allow people to more freely enter the premises, with fewer walls or level differences with the street.
 A characteristic feature is the open space around the stadium. The landscape is like a beautiful piece of origami, incorporating a museum and a shop whose faces appear from under folded-up sections of the ground level, so that their presence imparts minimal disturbance to the connections with the community. The seamless connectivity between the urban fabric and the stadium contributes to a greater sense of openness. Through the integration of greenery and street furniture into the landscaping we hope to encourage people to stop and enjoy the space, making it a vibrant space that supports new activities, not just a place where people pass by.
 Construction work will begin in the near future, and renovations are scheduled to gradually advance while the stadium remains in use.
 We hope to bring new value to this important venue as a public space for not only the players and fans, but also the people of Barcelona and those who come to visit, and as a space that builds on Catalonia’s fine heritage of public spaces and encourages the activity of people.

  • Tadahiko Murao

    Tadahiko Murao

    Executive Officer
    Principal, Global Architectural Design Group, Architectural Design Department

    As an exchange student sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Tadahiko Murao studied urban and architectural design at the University of Washington’s graduate school from 1985 to 1987. He joined Nikken Sekkei in 1998 after receiving his master’s degree at the graduate school of Kobe University. His work portfolio includes large-scale private-sector projects such as Queen’s Square Yokohama, Pacific Century Place Marunouchi, Midland Square, Sapporo Sosei Square, and the head office buildings of major firms such as Nikkei, Subaru, Onward, and Nikken Sekkei (Nikken Sekkei Tokyo Building). Public facilities include the Central Government Building No. 8 (Cabinet Office) and Fukuoka High Court. In 2016, he won an international design competition for the Camp Nou soccer stadium in Barcelona. His many accolades include the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Prize (Practical Achievement Division), the Nikkei New Office Award. He is a registered first-class architect, a member of the AIJ, a registered architect of The Japan Institute of Architects (JIA), and an APEC architect. He has also served as a WAF (World Architecture Festival) jurist since 2017.

  • Takeyuki Katsuya

    Takeyuki Katsuya

    Architect
    Design Director
    Architectural Design Department

    Takeyuki Katsuya joined Nikken Sekkei in 2000, after graduating from Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering.
    He has been involved in designing wide range of buildings, including "Renai Aoyama Building (2003)", "Toho Gakuen College Annex (2004)", "NOMURA Co., Ltd. Craft Headquarter Building (2009)", "Mokuzai Kaikan Hall (2009)", "Minato-ward Sirokane-no-oka Gakuen School (2014)", "Toa Road Corporation Headquarters Building (2015)", and "Sophia University's Sophia Tower (2017)".
    His participating projects have been highly acclaimed in various international competitions, such as MIPIM ASIA Awards and the World Architecture Festival Awards.
    In 2016, his team won the first prize at the International Design Competition for FC Barcelona's home stadium design, the New Camp Nou.
    He holds the first-class architect license of Japan. He is a member of both the Architectural Institute of Japan and the Japan Institute of Architects.

  • Yoshiyuki Uchiyama

    Yoshiyuki Uchiyama

    Director
    Global Architectural Design Group
    Architectural Design Department

    Yoshiyuki Uchiyama joined Nikken Sekkei in 2015, and brought global experience to our firm. Lived in 6 cities and 5 countries over the world for various projects. He started his experience in London for Richard Rogers Partnership (now known as RSH-P) in 1990. He returned to Tokyo and worked for the office of Atsushi Kitagawara Architects. His works include award-winning convention complex building called "Big Palette Fukushima". In 2000, he went back to London again for Rogers. Involved for several projects in Europe including Antwerp Law Courts and New Welsh Assembly in Cardiff. In 2005, he moved to Taiwan and South Korea for Asian projects. In 2009, Yoshiyuki Uchiyama moved to Zaha Hadid Architects. He led design team for Galaxy SOHO project in Beijing. Followed by Sky SOHO in Shanghai. Then he moved to Tokyo in 2013 to work on the New National Stadium, collaborating with Nikken Sekkei for two and half years. Soon after he joined Nikken Sekkei, he participated in the New Camp Nou competition team.

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