A remodel of the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia
Stadium will bring seating capacity up to 70,000 seats. But this is not the
main aim of this soccer stadium. The developers of the project want to achieve
a higher goal: being the first LEED Platinum certificate stadium in the world.
To achieve that goal designers are working on green solutions to fulfill the requirements.
The developers are designing a number of elements
to get a LEED Platinum status:
- A ring of solar photovoltaic panels on the roof
provides the stadium’s power. Because of new net-metering legislation in Brazil, the stadium
will be able to trade energy between the panels and the power grid as
necessary.
- A photocatalytic membrane on the roof that captures
air pollution as it falls, and breaks down the chemicals, removing them from
the atmosphere. Over 50% of CO2 emissions
related to stadium operations come from transportation to and from the stadium.
- VIP bicycle parking for 1,000 bikes inside the
stadium. There will be 3,500 bike parking spots in total.
- Rainwater collection and recycling system for
landscaping use, and low-flow water fixtures inside the stadium.
- Natural light - but also provide shading from the
hot Brasilia sun.
- Reused material from the old stadium.
Critiques:
Bike racks: Brasilia isn't made for bikes.
Very few people ride bikes there.
None of this comes cheap. The stadium is expected to
cost more than $400 million to complete. However the
solar panels, are expected to provide a return on investment in 10 to 12 years,
with a life cycle for the panels of at least 25 years.
I think it is interesting to see how Brazil is using the sport of fútbol to facilitate a new perspective on building efficiency strategies that are not only benefitting the the stadium, but the city of Brasilia. The photovoltaic membrane seems to be a concept that will hopefully help with Brazil's pollution problem nationally, potentially being an intricate part of most buildings in the new future. I also agree that by incorporating bike racks in this city that has little affiliation with this mode of transportation, the want to be LEED Platinum almost seems more like a bought title with quick points being acquired rather than wanting an actual impact.
ReplyDeleteThis stadium will inspire a greener world! Especially because of the upcoming olympics, the LEED Platinum credibility will inform not only Brazilians, but to those who may be uneducated about the benefits of sustainability. It will be advertised to the world as a building that strives for a better environment by promoting use of sustainable materials. I really appreciate the enormous availability of bike parking spots. This quantity of spots will introduce a better way of transportation.
ReplyDeleteI never stopped to think about all the pollution that a sporting event actually produces as a result of so many people gathering together at once. It makes a lot of sense to design such places with this in mind, I hope more stadiums and all high capacity venues will take this into account and follow the lead of Brasilia. It is too bad that biking is not more popular, however many times what is lacking is more biking infrastructure before a biking movement can really take off. If the city were to aggressively pursue more biking infrastructure such as priority bike lanes and tax brakes, pretty soon you might see the bike racks fill up.
ReplyDeleteWith the World Cup coming to Brazil in 2014 this remodel could put the concept of green design in front of literally billions of people across the planet. I hope that the green features of the stadium are featured on a world stage. Placing photovoltaic cells on the roof of large stadiums like this seems like a no-brainer. These large structures take up such a vast area and their solar energy production capability are enormous, especially in a tropical climate like that in Brazil.
ReplyDeleteI believe Brazil ought to have the first LEED Platinum certified stadium in the world! I liked your critique at the end of the post. I know that the main problem with solar power is how to storage this power. In the scale of football stadium, how frequent they assumed this stadium to be full? For example, if there is only one play each week, are they able to capture and use the solar power of 7 days!!
ReplyDeleteI have been a huge fan of Brazilian football since born and after reading this I totally became more interested. It is no surprise that football is also involved in you path to sustainability. Also, utilizing the ring of photovoltaic panels on roof, Rainwater collection, recycling systems for landscaping use and using reused materials of the previous stadium was quite interesting to me. I am really interested in planning a trip to Brazil during the next world cup so that I can visit this stadium, too.
ReplyDelete