New Bordeaux Stadium

Project description

Construction of the new Grand Stade de Bordeaux

An elegant and functional stadium
The Grand Stade de Bordeaux had to meet objectives that might seem contradictory. The two key imperatives were to keep costs under control while creating an architectural event. The stadium had to integrate into its environment, uniting it, while existing as an exceptional public building. It also had to serve as a functional facility for everyday use. To meet these expectations, we designed an elegant architecture characterized by compactness and transparency. The compactness allowed us to minimize the stadium’s footprint in its location, while transparency provided a sense of lightness during the day, with the possibility of densifying its volume at night through lighting effects.

A unifying stadium
Located in the Bordeaux Maritime district, the stadium is in close proximity to iconic city facilities: the exhibition center, the floral park, and the Aquitaine Bridge. It is also positioned between large natural spaces, which gives it the role of preserving ecological potential and acting as a transition between urban and rural areas. The stadium was placed in the central part of the designated site, set back from the Cours C. Bricaud roundabout. This placement frees the wooded area along the roundabout, which regains its natural aspect, continuing the floral park. The stadium is surrounded by moats, preserved by pedestrian access walkways. Gently placed on the site, this facility is the starting point of a neighborhood transformation.

An ode to the city and the region
The architecture and its symbols emerge from functional and structural simplicity: wine, the moon, the scapular, and the “carrelets.” Like a wine being swirled in a glass, the undulating stands are Bordeaux red behind the crystalline facades. The reference-level forecourt is served by wooden walkways that weave through the trees, respecting the local flora. These “tchanquées” walkways, in their simplicity, recall the “carrelets” found along the Garonne River. The roof, which covers all the stands, is made of wooden panels mounted on cables. It becomes translucent to the west, allowing sunlight to reach the pitch. This moon-shaped cutout is a nod to the “Port de la Lune” (Port of the Moon).