The new Singapore Sports Hub will be Singapore’s premier sports, entertainment and lifestyle complex. The development is the world’s largest sports-related Public Private Partnership project, designed as a destination for events at the international, national, and community scales to attract a wide spectrum of potential users. The site is located at the water’s edge along Marina Channel to the northeast of the city’s downtown, and will become an integral element of the urban fabric within walking distance of civic and business districts and connected to the city’s Mass Rapid Transit system. The project’s primary element is the new 55,000-seat National Stadium, oriented on axis with the waterfront and city core to establish a powerful relationship between the Sports Hub complex and downtown. The stadium’s distinctive, upturned bowl-shaped dome has been designed with metallic finishes and seam details that establish an intimate dialogue with the Pantadome roof of the existing, adjacent Singapore Indoor Stadium built in 1989 by Kenzo Tange. The new dome will span 312m and feature a retractable roof working in tandem with an innovative energy-efficient cooling system to deliver each seat with comfort, shade and shelter from the tropical climate. The design of the dome affords a large ring of covered space encircling the stadium at its lower levels, which the architects have utilised to house a band of retail and transform the stadium into a strong civic destination even during times between its hosted events.
A 35ha development, the Sports Hub is planned as a pedestrian network that responds to the water’s edge, the adjacent highway, the existing stadium, and transportation entrances. A covered promenade open to the public day and night will connect the stadium with other facilities within the complex, and a collection of plazas and recreational facilities is distributed across the site to offer multi-purpose, civic gathering places. The Sports Hub includes 41,000sqm of retail space, a 6,000-seat indoor aquatic centre, a 3,000 seat multi-purpose indoor arena, a water sports center, and additional sports and leisure facilities such as skateparks, hard-courts, leisure pools, volleyball courts and rock climbing walls.
Design by DP Architects and Arup Associates
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