Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium

Project description

The new Prince Moulay el Hassan stadium will become a true urban stadium, fully connected to the surrounding public spaces and playing an active part in the life of Morocco’s capital.
It is a contemporary and environmental expression of Moroccan culture. By combining enamelled terracotta, an ancestral material and know-how, with cutting-edge technology and engineering, it offers an iconic design that soars into the Rabat skyline.

Located in the heart of Rabat, the Prince Moulay el Hassan stadium is the historical home of the Fus soccer team, which plays in the 1st division. The project involves the construction of a new 22,000-seat stadium on its current site, removing the athletics track to position the public closer to the pitch. The existing indoor sports facilities (swimming pool, multi-sports hall and dojo) will be relocated further to the east, to improve the flow of traffic throughout the site.

Situated at the corner of 2 major avenues leading to the center of Rabat, the historic Fus stadium is currently surrounded by a perimeter wall, giving it little connection with the public space.
The main concept of the project is to completely rethink the relationship between the stadium and the city. The Stade Moulay el Hassan will become a true urban stadium, open to the public space, so that it can become part of the daily life of the city, seven days a week and not just on match days.

To achieve this, despite the very limited size of the plot, we set the new stadium back as far as possible from public roads. We removed the perimeter wall, and organized access control directly in line with the stadium facades, which themselves became the “enclosure”. Along the Mohamed Belhassan and Ahmed Reda Gdira avenues, we created wide, planted forecourts directly overlooked by the facades integrating ticket offices, access and egress points, stores and catering areas.

We positioned the lawn level below the level of the public space, so that the entire lower flight was embedded in the topography of the site. The general public thus has direct access from the forecourt to a wide walkway running around the arena. Overlooking the lower flight of bleachers, it offers exceptional panoramic views over the lawn.

Set around an oval arena, the new Prince Moulay el Hassan stadium features a rectangular urban massing that blends into the orthogonal grid of Rabat’s urban fabric.
It runs perfectly parallel to the 2 avenues that border it, rising slightly at the corner to signal the stadium.

This minimalist volumetry is clad in a glazed terracotta skin that pays homage to the terracotta craftsmanship that has been practiced in Morocco since the dawn of time. The facades are composed of 5 diamond-shaped modules measuring 2x1m, inspired by Berber motifs. The top profile of the lozenges varies as they curve to create a void with the one above.
Positioned in horizontal strata, the 5 modules create a bioclimatic skin that increases as it rises towards the sky.
In addition to its aesthetic appeal, this skin provides through-ventilation for the entire stadium, perfectly suited to Rabat’s climate, where the cool Atlantic winds meet the heat of the desert. The skin evacuates hot air from the upper part of the stadium, creates air currents and, thanks to the weight of the terracotta, offers a high level of inertia that considerably optimizes summer comfort.
The enamel’s slightly glossy white color reflects heat, the color of the sky and the setting sun on the west facade. Through this openwork skin, the corolla-shaped silhouette of the stadium arena appears in the background.

The terracotta skin is lifted off the ground to allow each of the entrances to adapt to the gently sloping topography of the surrounding public spaces. A large cantilevered canopy forms the transition between the glazed facades, including the stadium entrances, and the glazed terracotta skin. This large cantilever protects the glass facades and provides shelter from the elements and the sun.

The roof forms a transition between the rectangular volumetry of the shell and the oval of the arena. The roof of the arena is composed of a radiating metal structure in the shape of a bicycle wheel, suspending a wooden panel roof covered with a photovoltaic membrane. This suspended but relatively heavy roof also contributes to optimizing summer comfort thanks to the inertia of its materials.
Rainwater is collected and stored to help water the lawn.

The rotating arena has 2 flights. In the center of the West stand, the Presidential stand comprises a low flight for officials and VVIPs, with panoramic lounges overlooking the pitch, a balcony with 10 VIP boxes, and a high flight housing the press box and command headquarters.

The new stadium is organized around 5 levels. Embedded in the topography of the site, the first level is the pitch level, with an internal service road serving the changing rooms area, the official players’ and VVIP parking areas, the media area with mixed zone, press conference room, etc., and the catering logistics area.
Connected to the street is the level providing access to the various sections of the public (GP, VVIP, VIP, Loges, Media and Administration). It provides access to the lower and upper flights. At main grandstand level, the street level is the access level for accredited members of the public, as well as for the official and VVIP lounges. Above, on the main stand level, one level is dedicated to dressing rooms, one to the media, one to stadium administration and one to security.
Precise management of the different categories of public and users ensures perfect flow management for optimum matchday and no-matchday operations.