The new soccer-specific stadium of Houston Dynamo, an American professional soccer club based in Houston, will be designed to accommodate soccer and other multi-use events such as football, lacrosse, rugby and concerts.
The design approach will make use of simple and common materials that refer to the area’s industrial heritage, while creating a distinctive civic landmark in an emerging urban neighbourhood. A tessellated exterior skin mediates the scale of its context while defining a bold architectural statement in the Houston skyline. Composed of geometrically composed expanded metal sheets and orange polycarbonate infill, this continuous exterior surface surrounds the stadium and provides a dynamic sense of enclosure while enhancing the spectator experience.
Highlighted in orange polycarbonate, the articulated openings in the skin range from three-storey general spectator entries to pedestrian scaled ticketing window. The interior concourse continues this theme, with the bowl underside expressed with the team’s orange colours to enliven the space.
The new stadium will be located in downtown Houston and will include 34 luxury suites, 1,000 club seats, and a stadium club. The stadium will feature both an upper and a lower bowl with roof canopy structures on both sidelines and a stage canopy at the south end. The Houston Dynamo organization has selected Manhattan Construction Co. to build the new stadium. This will be the fourth professional team sports facility to be constructed by Manhattan in Texas. Walter P Moore is selected as the structural engineer for the project.
Groundbreaking is expected prior to January 2011, with anticipated opening by the 2012 MLS season.
This is the fourth sports project Populous has designed for Houston. The firm also designed Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, and Reliant Stadium.
