This Potential 2016 Olympic Stadium Can Shape-shift

This Potential 2016 Olympic Stadium Can Shape-shift

Forget for a minute this Weston Williamson + Partners-designed stadium may not actually get built, and instead marvel at the fact that someone designed a 70,000-seat Olympic stadium with no fixed shape. None. The roof can fully shift, adapting to the conditions of the wind and sun, like a flower reaching for the sun.

Or, as the architect says: “The stadium references the iconographic plan for Brasilia that represents a bird in flight by incorporating massive feather-like structures that envelop the interior.”

Each one of these lightweight concrete and steel “feathers” runs on a dedicated motor creating individualistic movement, allowing the exterior of the structure to reach in varying directions automatically, offering fresh shapes at all times.

This design won the ArchTriumph competition run in conjunction with the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, design and technology for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.