Sports science & digital art arena

STADIUM AND LABORATORY IN OSAKA, JAPAN

Design Ryo Kobayashi, Tsuyoshi Utagawa und Yuki Saito

Young professionals Ryo Kobayashi, Tsuyoshi Utagawa and Yuki Saito developed an architectural proposal that integrates a stadium with research & development institutions for sports-related technologies such as sports science, sensor technology and digital technology.

Athletes like to compile and analyse behavioural data in order to break records. The spread of e-sport is pushing the definition of sport into the digital realm. On the other hand, digital technology has had negative effects on people, such as increased technology addiction and digital stress. The design team believes that the negative effects of these digital technologies can be eliminated by experiencing sports and media art and bringing back them back into the physical realm. According to the three young professionals, the fusion with the digital will elevate sport to a higher level and make it more enjoyable.

Mixed functions within the facility

A stadium or exhibition room can be used as a place to display the results of research and development. The facility will grow into a place to create cyber sports and media art using technologies such as Virtual Reality. By synergising the ability to attract guests for media art and sports events, it is possible to generate more profit than conventional sports facilities.

The facility uses large flights of stairs and slopes to connect the landscape and architecture of the park. Spaces with various functions are loosely connected by running tracks that continue from the park, allowing use by everyone, from athletes to local residents: A good place for exercising and for events. It will be a unique landmark in the urban skyline of Osaka.

The interior space can be flexibly used as a multifunctional space. For example, by adopting movable seats in the stadium, it is possible to select a mode in which either the court is largest or the number of seats. A buffer area between the research facility and the court serves as an industry-academia collaboration space, enabling access to both functions.

2021 IOC IPC IAKS AWARD FOR STUDENTS & YOUNG PROFESSIONALS BRONZE

JURY VERDICT

The project, awarded Bronze by the jury, was designed for the city of Osaka in Japan. The design shown accommodates sports-related institutions such as sports technology and sports science, measurement and digital technologies as well as a sports hall. However, the findings of the development and research work can also be presented in this “stadium” as well as in the exhibition space. The jury welcomes this integrative approach in terms of the development of cyber sports and media art as well as the practice of physical sports. The inclusion of the forecourt with opportunities for various sporting activities creates an appropriate place to promote and present digital technology coupled with sporting activities.