The Rock Stadium won an international design competition that called for a 40,000 seat stadium at Jebel Hafeet in the United Arab Emirates. When Zgheib first visited the site, he said he was instantly reminded of a Greek amphitheater setting.

“That’s how the idea of carving into the mountain came to light, similarly to the greek amphitheatre which worked with the topographic landscape of its site, and was generally carved out of the side of a hill, taking advantage of sloping hillsides for its terraced seating.”

Images of the site show Jebel Hafeet to be rough and raw, drier than stale crumbs and flanked by jagged earth that juts out from the ground, but Zgheib’s unique concept drawings envision a cunning transformation that avoids undue environmental harm.

“The materials proposed to be used for construction are the main sustainable feature of the project. When carving the tiers into the rocks, we suggest to recuperate the extracted stone and crash it to obtain a reusable building material. Mixed with adhesive, this material is remolded into man-made strata patterns thatwill shape the main façade of the stadium.”

Additionally, MZ Architects proposed to cover three platform-shaped concrete rocks with excavated sand, further entrenching the stadium into the severe landscape.

The Lebanese firm with offices in Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is pioneering a thoughtful and pragmatic approach to sustainable design that recognizes the unique challenges presented by the region’s extraordinary climate.

“Due to the harsh weather in the Gulf area (extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter),” Zgheib explained, “architectural solutions alone are not always enough to achieve sustainability. Therefore, we are bound to rely on costly modern technologies.”

Zgheib strives to approach each project with fresh eyes to ensure that proposed solutions respond directly to the needs of each new client and site. Sadly, the Rock Stadium design came alive when the global economy crashed, but there’s still a chance that it will be become the future best building.

“In light of the worldwide recognition and success it has been getting,” said Zgheib, “I have high hopes and expect the Rock Stadium to be relaunched and built especially that this project can only be realized in this exact location in Jebel Hafeet.”

The post Jebel Hafit stadium in the desert by MZ Architects appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you’ve ever had the experience of driving through a vast, mostly uncluttered landscape that is suddenly interrupted by a large, ill-fitting manmade structure, then this project by MZ Architects will appeal to you. Sustainability experts with offices in Lebanon, Morocco, Abu Dhabi and elsewhere, the designers have pushed the stadium underground and set it apart from the remaining void with sharp planes that are camouflaged from a distance. The concept has been designed for Al Ain – Abu Dhabi’s second largest city.

Sinking The Rock has multiple benefits. First it allows the building to blend in with the surrounding landscape, adding to its allure rather than destroying it. But it also allows the designer to utilize passive cooling strategies that will minimize the stadium’s energy loads once it is “up and running.”

Very concered to minimize non-renewable resource consumption and harmful toxins in their projects, MZ Architects will reuse the materials that are displaced during the construction of the stadium. This further reduces the embedded carbon footprint as fewer materials will have to be shipped in from afar to realize the program.

Like many contemporary architects, the firm has taken inspiration from the ancients both conceptually and philosophically. The first Greek stadium ever built took the surrounding topography into consideration and many subsequent stadia were partially submerged, while the Temple of Anahita – a grand entrance into the underground world – will lend a metaphysical aspect to Al Ain’s desert sporting events.

While large developers continue to construct obscene projects that pay absolutely no heed to environmental or planning concerns, sometimes to tragic effect as the recent fire in Qatar reveals, it is very refreshing to notice a more thoughtful trend emerging from designers servicing desert countries. Although informed by longstanding strategies, this new trend is by no means backward. It merely recognizes that nature will eventually prevail.

:: World Architecture News

More on Desert Architecture:

Curvy Desert Home Designed by Iranian Students Mimics the Snail

Iraqi Mud Architect Talks Corruption and Sustainability in the Middle East

Yemen’s Manhattan of the Desert Boasts 400 Habitable Towers

The post The Rock Stadium Rises from the Desert in Sharp Planes appeared first on Green Prophet.