The NFL’s Washington Redskins franchise has grand plans for a new stadium. The wave-like structure will have parks, bridges, even a moat surrounding it.
The stadium’s architect, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes this weekend. Ingels, the Danish starchitect, explained his vision for the stadium.
“The stadium is designed as much for the tailgating, like the pre-game, as for the game itself,” Ingels told 60 Minutes. “Tailgating literally becomes a picnic in a park. It can actually make the stadium a more lively destination throughout the year without ruining the turf for the football game.”
According to the Washington Post, a moat for kayakers and various parks and bridges will surround the stadium.
The Post also found that many Washington football fans think the design is dumb.
Also, everything about this image is absurd. Rappelling? Roller skates? Surfers? Bikinis? No porta potties? pic.twitter.com/rJam0k3uwB
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2016
Specifics are unknown, in part, because the new stadium’s location still needs to be hashed out. The Redskins play at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. The venue opened in 1997, and the team has a lease through 2027. Redskins owner Dan Snyder wants a new home, though, and locations in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., are being considered.
D.C. is a difficult situation. CityLab explained that the team would have to change its nickname for the government to turn over the land underneath Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. But since BIG likes to incorporate site-specific features, a moat at the RFK site "would connect the venue with the nearby Anacostia River, which is popular with kayakers," Kriston Capps of CityLab wrote. "The design looks like a love letter to the team’s old neighborhood." A moat surrounding a Virginia-based stadium would be out of place.
BIG hasn’t designed an NFL stadium, but has recently worked on other ambitious projects, like The Spiral, a twisting 65-story tower in Manhattan.
The #Redskins have hired world-renowned firm BIG to develop new stadium concepts.
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) March 11, 2016
MORE | https://t.co/hohCDeVvjb pic.twitter.com/6JMm0mOFI5
Related Stories
| Jul 8, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright's posthumous gas station opens in Buffalo
Eighty-seven years after Frank Lloyd Wright designed an ornamental gas station for the city of Buffalo, the structure has been built and opened to the public—inside an auto museum.
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 7, 2014
A climate-controlled city is Dubai's newest colossal project
To add to Dubai's already impressive portfolio of world's tallest tower and world's largest natural flower garden, Dubai Holding has plans to build the world's largest climate-controlled city.
| Jul 3, 2014
Arthur Ashe Stadium the latest to tap Birdair
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and ROSSETTI, the architect of record for the Arthur Ashe Stadium, tapped Birdair to supply a 210,000-square-foot, PTFE membrane, retractable roof, expected to be installed by 2016.
| Jul 2, 2014
First Look: Qatar World Cup stadium design references nomadic heritage
Organizers of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, recently unveiled designs for the second stadium.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jul 2, 2014
Grimshaw's 'kit of parts' design scheme selected for Qatar sports facilities program
The series of projects, called the Al Farjan Recreational Sports Facilities, have been designed in such a way that the same basic design can be adapted to the specific requirements of each site.
| Jul 1, 2014
Sochi's 'kinetic façade' may steal the show at the Winter Olympics
The temporary pavilion for Russian telecom operator MegaFon will be wrapped with a massive digital "pin screen" that will morph into the shape of any face.
| Jun 30, 2014
Philip Johnson’s iconic World's Fair 'Tent of Tomorrow' to receive much needed restoration funding
A neglected Queens landmark that once reflected the "excitement and hopefulness" at the beginning of the Space Age may soon be restored.
| Jun 30, 2014
Research finds continued growth of design-build throughout United States
New research findings indicate that for the first time more than half of projects above $10 million are being completed through design-build project delivery.
