Stadium Kantrida – Rijeka
AUTHOR: Dora Perković
PROJECT: Preliminary design
LOCATION: Kantrida, Rijeka
AREA: 56 000 m2
YEAR: 2014
STATUS: Project
The scenographic experience of the current space is created by strong vertical curves of rocks and the horizontal plane of the sea surface below it. The characteristics of these two natural elements that make up a spatial composition are two extremes; static and solidity of rock against the dynamic and fluidity of the sea. Both elements arouse human awe as they represent the natural superiority over man. Except for the formative and natural features they carry with them, it is also important to highlight the historical and cultural ones; the rock as the bearer of the spirit of this space. In the early 20th century, quarry that employed the population of the city and from which the same citizenship built the port (participated in the development of their own city), was located in this place. Rijeka, as a port-industrial city, built on a narrow and very steep coastal area, suffers from a lack of public urban spaces, parks.
The new football stadium becomes a buffer zone between two opposing elements, created by a pedestrian path that goes down the rocks, supplies the stadium and ends with public facilities and coastal docks in the south. This new element creates new urban spaces that city lacks. Design of the stadium testifies the importance of the rock and the sea; the stands are organically shaped, with smaller height along the rock, climbing southwards, but opening the lower zone towards the sea, and at their highest point parrying to the rocks, thus creating a theatrical atmosphere. The system of steel girders was created as a reflection on the port city image and its visual identity, the bearers of which are the so-called “Rijeka’s giraffes”. The stadium was erected 4 meters above the ground level. It exudes transparency and allows mutual visual communication of every part of its form.
Walking patrol is a space that can be used on a daily basis. Sanitary and hospitality blocks are part of this whole and are also used outside the stadium as catering facilities. They open to glass walls facing the sea. The south end of this patrol is enriched with restaurants and catering facilities that open to the south with terraces.