ADDIS ABABA – While sceptics are doubting if one of the world’s poorest countries actually needs a new stadium, Ethiopia will soon be home to a new 60,000-seat sports complex.
The Addis Ababa construction will be a collaboration between German firm LAVA, Quatar-based DESIGNSPORT and local Ethiopian architects JDAW, whose masterplan will be a FIFA and Olympic-standard sports park.
The façade has been inspired by coffee beans – the country’s main source of income – and by a traditional local basket called 'massob.' The overall shape and design reflects Ethiopia’s UNESCO heritage site: excavated rock churches.
The structure will be realized with local materials and will include sustainable features like a roof with an intelligent membrane and solar-powered umbrellas. The entire complex houses a stadium for athletic, religious and national events, aquatic centres, sports halls, open air fields, dormitories and the headquarters of the Federal Sports Commission.
Renderings courtesy of LAVA
Sports Complex Ethiopia by LAVA
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