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Host cities for major sporting events such as the Olympics are often required to construct vast new stadiums and facilities. But these facilities can then struggle to find new uses after the players and fans have gone home. Qatar, hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, hopes to avoid this with a stadium that can be disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere in a new configuration. The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, designed by Spain’s Fenwick Ibarren Architects, will be built from modular containers which can be slotted together to form the shell of the stadium, then dismantled and reused in another location.

The 40,000-seat arena will be located on the waterside just outside Doha, allowing the containers to arrive by ship and be quickly fitted into the frame of the structure. Each container includes removable seats, toilets, food stands and merchandise concessions, allowing them to be used for stadiums in any number of designs and sizes. In a statement to FIFA, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, the Secretary General of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, stressed the advantages of a structure which could be repurposed for different uses, saying, “This venue offers the perfect legacy, capable of being reassembled in a new location in its entirety or built into numerous small sports and cultural venues. All of this in a stadium that delivers the atmosphere fans expect at a World Cup and which we will build in a more sustainable way than ever before.”

The construction methods and modular design of the stadium will require fewer materials, and create less waste and a lower carbon footprint than traditionally-constructed stadiums of a similar size. Due to its sustainable approach, the project will receive a four-star Global Sustainability Assessment System certification from the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development. We have seen many innovative building designs before, including a stand-alone house that fits into a parking space and an underwater restaurant. Will the Ras Abu Aboud design be a blueprint for future tournaments that could broaden the range of countries able to host large events?