Al-Wakrah Stadium – design description

Creating the design for Al-Wakrah's new stadium was assigned to AECOM and Zaha Hadid in June 2013, while first renderings of the venue were shown in November of that year.

The stadium was designed with links to local maritime traditions, using waves on the roof cover and wooden ribs underneath the cladding to make the interior of the roof resemble the structure of traditional boats.

Under main roof arches of 230m each there are stands for 44,000-45,000 people on two tiers. The entire upper ring of seating is to be demounted once games of the 2022 World Cup end, leaving half the initial capacity.

The stadium is to ensure comfortable temperatures to fans with shade, aerodynamics and mechanical ventilation systems used to minimise the impact of heat.

Around the stadium a vast 585,000 public space is planned with two training fields cooled to 26 degrees, two indoor halls, four tennis courts and two basketball pitches, among other sporting infrastructure. Also a 10,000 sqm retail complex and a four-star 150-room hotel are planned.