AFL Architects has been commissioned to design King Abdullah Economic City Stadium, which will be a host venue during Saudi Arabia’s staging of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
King Abdullah Economic City Stadium will have a capacity of 45,700 and will be located to the north of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast. AFL has been commissioned to design the venue by the Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA).
AFL’s work to date has involved site analysis and selection, and designing an 800,000-square-metre masterplan for the project. The first renderings have been unveiled today (Thursday).
AFL, which is based in the UK, said the stadium will feature energy-efficient systems and green spaces as part of plans to prioritise the conservation of resources and the reduction of its ecological footprint. The design for the multi-purpose stadium has been inspired by the heat-resilient super-corals in the Red Sea.
The wider precinct will be opened up to the community, with the plans including experiential mixed-use neighbourhoods that feature retail outlets, sports facilities, a leisure quarter with a cinema, cultural hubs, hotels and residential areas.
The stadium itself will feature a demountable upper tier to cater to a variety of events after the World Cup. AFL has designed overlay legacy options for multiple events, such as concerts, esports, boxing and Saudi Women’s Premier League matches.
The façade of the venue will incorporate an “adaptable visual experience” with feature lighting on the lower tier. The upper tier will enable projection mapping to cater for different event formats.
The renderings have been released after Saudi Arabia was yesterday officially confirmed as the host of the 2034 World Cup. The country’s ambitious plans for the tournament feature 11 new stadiums and no fewer than eight venues in the capital city of Riyadh.
The 2034 World Cup has been proposed to take place in just five cities, with the bid book promising a “compact” tournament concept.
AFL also designed Lusail Stadium, which was built as the centrepiece of Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and Peter Mokaba Stadium, which was used during the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The 2034 World Cup will be the second edition of the tournament to take place in the Middle East, after Qatar 2022.
The Qatar tournament was rescheduled for November and December due to the intense summer heat in the country, which faced scrutiny over its working conditions for migrant workers who helped build its stadiums. Saudi Arabia faced similar scrutiny in the lead-in to yesterday’s announcement.
