INTERNATIONAL
M E LBOU RN E , AUSTR ALIA
AAMI Park
A
AMI Park, by COX Architecture, is one of Melbourne and the world’s most iconic stadiums, awarded the Most Iconic and Culturally Significant Stadium by the World Stadium Congress in 2012. AAMI Park continues the strong architectural lineage of Melbourne and Olympic Parks evidenced since 1956 by the Myer Music Bowl and
Olympic Pool Complex, and later by Rod Laver Arena and the MCG. It represents a move forward by the city to provide residents and visitors alike with a firstclass facility that embodies a pioneering approach to public architecture and, in turn, public life. The design responds to its unique location through its
12 LEADINGARCHITECTURE & DESIGN APRIL/MAY 2020
PHOTOGRAPHY DIANNA SNAPE/BOWERBIRD.IO
integration of the multi-code sports campus, providing a stadium that is easily accessed by spectators and highly utilised by elite players and clubs. The client’s functional brief was to provide a facility for four separate football codes, with spectator seating as close to the action as possible. The activated relationship to the streetscape, the civic-scaled entry stairs, and the flanking urban plazas all integrate the stadium into its landscaped context, providing a strong
visual connection to the city, river and parklands. A key philosophy was to provide the perfect seating bowl, with seats rising up to optimise the preferred east and west flanks with excellent sightlines and proximity to the action, while allowing close seats for the goal-end fans at north and south. This form was articulated in a series of bays to maximise the sense of theatre and engagement that is so important to creating great events.
