Project: Atahualpa Olympic Stadium Renewal
Architects: QUADDRO Moncayo + Ferreras Partners
Location: United Nations Avenue, Quito, Ecuador
Area: 161,458 sf
Photographs by: Julia Bogdan
Atahualpa Olympic Stadium in Quito, Ecuador
Located in the hyper-center of the Ecuadorian capital, the Atahualpa Olympic Stadium is a consequence of the Quito Regulatory Plan developed by the Uruguayan architect Jones Odriozola in 1942. Completed in 1951, the stadium acts as a closing point of the Naciones Unidas Avenue.
Therefore, it is a reference point of the north center of the city.
The proposal is articulated as follows:
1. Urban reintegration and recovery of public space
Although the location of the stadium is privileged within the Ecuadorian capital, the public space adjacent to it is degraded and neglected, which isolates the stadium from both the boulevard of the Naciones Unidas Avenue and the 6 de Diciembre Avenue.
The proposal seeks the recovery and enhancement of said public space, as an articulating element between the Naciones Unidas Avenue and the 6 de Diciembre Avenue, integrating the stadium back into the urban fabric.
2. Implementation of Complementary Architectural Program
A functional supplement to the previous strategy is proposed in the new public space. By adding a commercial use, the aforementioned temporary activation will be prolonged.
The starting point is the relocation of auxiliary programs close to the main entrance hall of the stadium. In this way it will be possible to package the program of services by freeing the stadium’s interior space, while at the same time giving it a greater spatial quality.
This will enable a better use of both the hall and nearby areas, which are currently underused, incorporating a commercial, recreational and cultural program that encourages the appropriation of space.
3. Renovation of the architectural image
The current morphology of the stadium is directly derived from its function as an Olympic stadium: an austere image that is based on the idea of structural honesty. However, the current condition of the stadium reveals its deterioration and the lack of planning in later modifications (such as the implementation of television booths, press rooms, informal shops), which generate an inadequate architectural and urban image.
The intervention is conceived from a position of respect to its pre-existence being completely removable without altering its original materiality. The proposal suggests the implementation of a new metallic skin anchored to the original structural lines, by means of a new metallic sub-structure. This skin acts as a coating that forms a new image, respecting the original compositional logics:
The rhythms of the existing building, generated by the elements of the vertical structure of reinforced concrete, are replicated through recessed joints that generate shadow lines, breaking the idea of a monolithic volume.
The existing 8-pillared gantry that currently marks the entrance is covered by a glass enclosure. In this way, we seek to achieve a double function; on the one hand, to generate visual permeability between interior and exterior, converting this space into a catalyst between the public and the private; on the other, to generate a lantern effect that acts as a nighttime finale of the Boulevard through the backlighting of the envelope.
4. Complementary strategies
Rehabilitation and enhancement of the existing roof in the grandstand area, taking into account its architectural value and significant stadium importance. Reorganization and redesign of radio and television booths. The successive alterations have progressively added a series of volumes that contaminate the formal reading of the original project. In this respect, a reorganization is proposed, generating a horizontal platform that provides an adequate space for the press, without interfering with the morphology of the stadium. Adaptation of bar and box. These programs are in an inadequate condition, so it is necessary to adapt them infrastructurally.
-Project description and images provided by QUADDRO
