Qatar unveils FIFA World Cup’s first reusable stadium made from shipping containers

Qatar has unveiled the design of the seventh of eight stadiums where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), which is working to deliver the infrastructure for the mammoth event, unveiled the design for the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium in an online digital media campaign, reported Gulf Times.

The stadium, which is touted as the first-ever demountable and reusable FIFA World Cup stadium, will host matches up to the quarterfinal stages in 2022, according to The Peninsula.

The venue champions a bold and pioneering design concept based on shipping containers, removable seats and other steel modular building blocks that will come together to form an elegant curved square form venue.

Due for completion in 2020, the stadium has a bold and innovative design concept, never seen in a FIFA World Cup venue before.

The stadium’s innovative design was envisioned by Fenwick Iribarren Architects (FI-A), a firm with experience of designing some of the world's most impressive sports arenas, including the Casablanca Football Stadium in Morocco, Norway's new National Stadium and the iconic 2022 FIFA World Cup venue of Qatar Foundation Stadium.

The modular building blocks the stadium consists of are modified shipping containers, each containing fundamental stadium elements that can be quickly assembled and disassembled at various locations as required, reported Qatar Tribune.

The modular design also means construction of the venue will require fewer materials, create less waste and reduce the carbon footprint of the building process, all while reducing the time taken to build the stadium to as little as three years. Thanks to this sustainable approach to the stadium's construction, Ras Abu Aboud will receive a four-star Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) certification.

The 40,000-seat venue will be located in a 450,000sq m waterfront site on the shores of the Arabian Gulf, where the use of shipping containers as one of the main building blocks will echo the nearby port.

Situated just southeast of Doha and a mere 1.5km from the city’s state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport, it will be serviced by excellent transport links, including a dedicated stop on Qatar Rail’s Gold Line, direct road connections to the centre of Doha and Al Wakrah, and potentially even a water taxi stop.

The stadium’s prime location will offer exceptional views over Doha’s landmark Corniche and into the downtown West Bay area.