The Stadium of Siena

The construction will be a category A stadium under FIFA and UEFA regulations. It will hold some 20,000 spectators, with 7,000 covered seats and seating for 4,000 away supporters. The buildings will cover an area of 30,000 square metres with a total site area of 400,000 square metres.The design takes into account more than the stadium itself, incorporating a keen awareness both of the surroundings (the sensitive and picturesque context of the Tuscany hills around Siena) and of the relationship between architecture and landscape.

The project turns the idea of a stadium inside out, changing it from an inward-looking container into an open arena to be used every day of the week. The pitch’s centre of gravity has been shifted so as to allow an open view over the surrounding areas.
The construction of a large-scale sports structure in the countryside involves more than the physical integration of architecture and landscape. It is also necessary to strike a balance in the dynamic coexistence between stadium and community.
It has been conceived as a complex system where features specific to football coexist with a variety of resources designed for other sporting, educational, financial and commercial activities together with accommodation facilities.
It is a multifunctional area that is well served by transport links with extensive parking for visitors to the stadium. This means it will be capable of generating revenues from a variety of different sources that can guarantee the continuation of the system’s financial independence.
This was the inspiration behind the Borgo Vecchio Park, the first suburban alternative to the historic town centre.
The stadium takes its cue from the theatres of ancient Greece, modelled on the natural curves of the Fossatone hills, then opening into a spacious area for concerts and outdoor events which has been broadened out to a gently sloping plane, with a view of Siena as its backdrop.
The «inhabited roof» is the only «constructed» element of the stadium: a thick slab that rises out of the ground, it projects over the grandstand and ends with a pronounced overhang above the home fans’ seating. It has been conceived as a climate-controlled passage flanked by 500 VIP seats and the stadium’s representational facilities .
The design, which results from well-balanced topographic modelling, makes the stadium a new landmark, without disturbing the delicate balance between its immediate setting and the surrounding countryside. The town is thus enriched by a new, tactful presence that citizens and tourists will be able to discover gradually, just as they would an archaeological site.

Technical data: category A stadium (in accordance with regulations FIFA and UEFA) 20.000 places, with n.7.000 covered seats, n. 4000 guest supporters with arena for concerts.
«inhabited roof» with stadium’s representational facilities:
– medical centre (1000 mq.)
– headquarters of the soccer club
mq. 500 reception
mq. 300 offices, managers’ offices
– media reserved areas:
n. 150 – seats in the covered tribunen. 5 tv commentators’ places
n. 50 seats – press room
n. 200 seats – conference centre
– Vip area : executive lounges (n.10 private rooms) and club seatings (n.400 seats)
– Panoramic restaurant (n. 250 places)
– Commercial activities
n. 3 separate parking areas, for n. 3000 parking lots, underground car park for players, referees, soccer club managers.