China may have failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia this year but a Chinese company has secured a prominent role in the 2022 tournament in Qatar, having been picked to build a "magic" demountable stadium from shipping containers.
Guangdong-based China International Marine Container Group (CIMC) will construct Ras Abu Aboud Stadium (rendered above) after a Qatari World Cup official visited a CIMC factory to inspect sample containers, including one kitted out with toilet facilities.
The official was "greatly satisfied" and wanted CIMC to build "this magic stadium", CIMIC has announced on its website.
The visit occurred just before the tournament began in Russia, CIMC said.
Late last year GCR reported on the unique design, by Spanish firm Fenwick Iribarren Architects, German consultant engineer Schlaich Bergermann Partner and the UK’s Hilson Moran, but a builder had not been named.
The seven-story stadium will consist of 990 modular containers, each measuring 6m x 2.5m x 2.5m, set into a steel framework.
A Qatari World Cup official visited a CIMC factory to inspect sample containers, including one kitted out with toilet facilities (CIMC)
It will be the first "detachable, mobile and recyclable" stadium in the history of the FIFA World Cup, CIMC said.
"Strictly speaking, we are not ‘building’ but ‘producing’ this stadium," said Wang Fei, a CIMC project manager.
The modular approach would "use less material, give rise to less waste and emissions, and save three years for construction", Wang added.
After the tournament, the stadium can be reused for other events, reformed into smaller venues, or even be converted to other uses, CIMC said, including affordable housing or refugee camps.
According to CIMC, production of the 990 containers will start next month, and will be completed by 2019, while the whole project is expected to finish by June 2020.
Top image: Render of Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Qatar, by Fenwick Iribarren Architects
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