Fig 17- Considerations for Materiality

WORLD VIEW:

STADIUM AND THE CITY

The stadium has traditionally been one of the most recognizable structures. The stadium is the urban venue where cities meet to exhibit their civic pride, and hence, become a symbol of the community in which they are located. The stadium as an architectural typology is hard to comprehend without first comprehending the society in which it exists. They represent society’s culture and viewpoints.

The stadium serves as the urban center for the celebration of the event’s ritual. When the team wins, it is a location where the entire community comes together to celebrate, and when the team loses, it is a place where the entire community mourns. The stadium is the city’s most urban building today. The stadium, however, is more than just a sports venue. It’s a means of reviving the city. It is a hotbed of economic development (Duriko, 2014).

Professional sports such as major league baseball, American football, football, and hockey are attracting large audiences of local and visiting spectators to attend the games at mixed-use complexes. “The success of a mixed-use project hinges on activity. The more people that are walking around, using the space and engaging with it, the more it creates an inclusive atmosphere and people want to be there,” explains David Demarest, JLL International Director, and Southeast Market Leader.

“We look at the mix of opportunities, but what’s more important is what can people do at those venues, and how they tie into the stadium or arena,” says Mark Williams, AIA, LEED AP, Principal and Director of Sports & Entertainment Business Development with HKS Architects, which designed Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park. “Sophisticated ownership now understands that you have to capture audiences with a broader entertainment and time frame.”

In a country like India which celebrates and enjoys sports, there is a need to make stadiums an intrinsic part of the city. More activities might take place in and around the stadiums, connecting them to the city and raising aspiration and passion in the community. A range of everyday, ceremonial spaces, in addition to the stadium’s seats, tiers,

Every sports project that Kansas City-based architectural firm Populous is working on “has some vision of mixed-use development,” says John Shreve, Senior Principal, and Senior Urban Planner, “It’s what cities want.”

clubs, and lounges, clearly form part of an overall spatial narrative that exemplifies the experience of watching a sporting event.

Fig 3- Mix of Opportunities at Los Angeles Stadium (by HKS Architects) Source- https://www.archdaily.com/800073/hks-designed-la-stadium-willbe-the-largest-in-the-nfl

Fig 4- Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat by Populous Source- https://populous.com/project/narendra-modi-stadium

THESIS PROPOSITION THE PROJECT

The aim is to create a 365 day attraction for Gwalior residents that will help revitalize and activate the growing Gwalior and new-born Gwalior West. Growing up, the majority of youth has a great interest in sports and outdoor activities. This allowed layering the stadium typology with functions catering to the needs of youth specifically. A space that would keep the stadium site active and lively on non-match days, and at the same time provide an inclusive and holistic environment for youth to explore themselves. Hence, Youth Centers are added as additional components to complement the stadium’s facilities. It would provide spaces where young people can hang out in a secure, heterogeneous, and supervised environment. It would allow for unstructured social interaction between people of all ages while also providing space for more structured activities. These centers would assist youth in developing their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities as well as experiencing achievement, enjoyment, friendship, and recognition by providing them with opportunities to participate in recreational and cultural activities as well as vocational counseling.

Stadium

(1st Layer) Primary Function on match days, Secondary Function on non-match days Sports Facilities

(2nd Layer) Secondary Function on match days, Primary Function on nonmatch days

Youth Center

(2nd Layer) Secondary Function on match days, Primary Function on nonmatch days Specifically, in the case of Gwalior International Cricket Stadium, the site is surrounded by residential typologies. The youth has plenty of open spaces to play as the site is on the outskirts of the city. Introducing a youth center along with the stadium, would not only keep the masses bound closely with the stadium but would also provide opportunities for youth to explore themselves in other areas of development.

Moreover, with the urbanization and settlement of Gwalior West, the load on the outskirts of Gwalior city would also start increasing eventually. Th, a site rich in multiple functions would help in urban rejuvenation. Further, this would allow the site to integrate and preserve the greens of forest land.

A holistic and inclusive environment can thus be created by integrating greens, residentials, and stadiums. The intervention would have the ability to shape the cities in proximity, while also putting a community on the map. The design would evolve into an important component of the urban matrix that would bind Gwalior and Gwalior West together and would serve as a focal point for youth and citizens.

Fig 5- Amalgmation of Different Layers Source- Author

Fig 6- Expression of Interest by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association Source- Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association

THE WAY FORWARD

Sporting stadiums have a significant impact on the communities in which they are constructed. Not only do they have an impact on the local economy, but they also have an impact on pedestrian and other modes of transportation circulation. They have an impact on the ecosystem, as well as the land on which they are constructed. Some cities inspire advancement in urban design, whereas others do not (Borgen, 2017). Stadiums are massive projects and require detailed intricacy and functional resolution of the utmost level. Many stadiums built in the past might not have paid heed to a stronger link with the cities, but the stadiums of the new age, such as the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, India, appear to be gigantic monuments and at the same time establish a positive link with the city’s other activities. Our capacity as designers to make stadiums a part of the cities in which they dwell has grown as our understanding of how to successfully create urban landscapes has grown.

Fig 7- Way forward for Stadiums Source- Author