Designed by Populous, the design of Sporting Kansas City's fan-oriented stadium, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, seeks to capture movement and motion by celebrating the beautiful game.

© Alistair Tutton Photography 2010

© Alistair Tutton Photography 2010

The repeating angular metal fin exterior represents the 'body,' or the players' athleticism. The signature roof canopy mimics the long floating arc of a soccer ball as it soars across the field. Its polycarbonate panels create an intimate, yet grand scale. The canopy covers every seat in the stadium and also adds to the game experience by amplifying crowd noise.

© Alistair Tutton Photography 2010

Sporting KC's fan-oriented stadium has various club spaces, giving fans a chance to interact with players, suites with adjacent lounges, floor-to-ceiling patio doors creating an indoor/outdoor experience and a year-round member's club designed to be the place in Kansas City to watch soccer matches around the globe. In addition to hosting soccer, the stadium features a retractable seating section that can be used for end-stage concerts.The field can be used for football and rugby.

LIVESTRONG Sporting Park's brand- and fan-oriented design elements have combined to create the new American standard for soccer stadium design.

© Alistair Tutton Photography 2010

© Alistair Tutton Photography 2010

+ Project data

• Capacity:

• 18,500 for soccer (includes 2,000 capacity Member's Club section)
• 25,000 for concerts

• End Stage with permanent concert and event rigging capability
• Exterior materials include metal and limestone quarried less than 100 miles from the site
• Dramatic polycarbonate canopy fully covering the seating bowl

• The roof ascends from 65' off the ground up to 95' high; it cantilevers out 95' and covers every seat in the bowl
• The roof is the largest polycarbonate roof installation in North America
• 80% of sunlight can penetrate the roof material, encouraging pitch growth

• Every corner of the bowl was designed with a different match experience – including the Member's Club, standing room only Budweiser Bar, the Victory Suite and the opposing team's dedicated seating area
• Natural grass playing surface with an underground heating system
• Field dimensions of 75 yards x 120 yards; the field is larger than any pitch in the English Premier League
• LED field boards
• Two Video Boards; one is 25' by 84' (largest in MLS) and the other is 12' by 40'
• Five Levels
• 35 suites plus one party suite and one corporate suite

• Every suite features floor-to-ceiling patio doors for indoor/outdoor seating
• Lounge areas encourage interaction among suite patrons

• 5 lounge/club spaces

• Field Club seats are integrated with player boxes with an ability to watch Sporting parade from their locker room to the field through the club space; the front row is just 19 feet from the pitch

• Main stand seats were manufactured in England; they are the same seats used in Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and have never before been used in the US
• More than 300 HDTVs
• 5 public elevators, a separate press elevator and one freight elevator
• Team Stores
• Locker Rooms

• Sporting Kansas City locker room
• Visiting team locker room
• 4 auxiliary locker rooms
• Officials locker facilities

• 4 Star Dressing Rooms
• Broadcast Facilities:

• 3 TV Commentary Booths
• 4 Radio Commentary Booths

• First MLS stadium fully lighted for HDTV
• Writing press area
• Cutting edge technology including social fan interaction and more than 150 wi-fi access points around the building offer enough coverage to handle full-capacity crowds
• 6-bay fully enclosed loading dock/broadcast truck parking
• 120,000 SF Event Plaza adjoining stadium – equal to the size of Kansas City Live! in the Power and Light District
• $200 million total project cost

+ Project Team

Architect: Populous | http://www.populous.com/
Construction Manager: Turner Construction
Structural Engineers: Thornton Tomasetti / KH Engineering Group
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing and Technology Engineer: M-E Engineers / FSC Inc.
Civil Engineer: BHC Rhodes
A/V: Acoustic Dimensions
Field Design: Millenium Sports Technology Inc.
Landscape Design: Young & Dring Landscape Architecture / Land 3 Studio
Food Service: Duray
Graphics and Wayfinding: Ghostfire Design Inc.
Interior Documentation: Wellner Architects
FF&E Documentation: Design Investments

Last week, the Jangir Maddadi Design Bureau popped the champagne at the opening of their new exhibition at the Kalmar Konst Museum, which is on view until August 14th. The exhibition features the work of designers Jangir Maddadi and Helena Svensson. Here, visitors to the museum can view in person the brand-new Compound Collection, the Panorama, the Yacht Bench, the indoor three-seater and the outdoor two-seater.

The reception, held at Byttan restaurant, was filled with the region's architects, designers, art enthusiasts, and friends. When asked on stage about his beginnings, Jangir described his upbringing in war-ridden Kurdistan and his unexpected foray into the field of design later in life. He said that his collections are inspired by social connection and that good design will improve people's experiences without limitations.

This installation is a showcase for all who are interested in learning more about Jangir Maddadi Design Bureau's ever-growing collections. We did have cover some of the projects which you can find here.