Which infrastructural improvements do you anticipate for the districts, in which such arenas are going to be built?
The main infrastructural improvements concern transport: public transportation infrastructure and road network/parking. Arenas are able (and are made) to host big events, like concerts or sport’s games. Therefore, it is crucial to guarantee the access, both by public and private transport, to that place of the city, in those specific periods.
This poses a challenge for transport and urban planning. Public transport is made to serve large numbers of people, on a regular basis. Events, on the other hand, create a very high demand in a very short period of time and in specific days, often in offpeak hours. How to conceptualize a public transport system that is suited for that?
How to avoid the over expenditure in public transport that might be rarely used? How to maintain it, when it might not be sustainable from a financial point of view? These are some of the issues that need to be address. The O2 arena in London, which is served by different modes of public transportation, might provide an example of how difficult it is to manage the flows of people getting in and out of the larger events.
However, the construction of these buildings is often part of a larger urban project that aims to develop the area around those facilities. In this case, public transportation and road infrastructure become part of the infrastructure that will serve a new part of the city.
As a brief conclusion, one might say that the arenas need to be thought of at a larger scale: how to connect them to a larger transport system and how to explore their potential as a catalyst of urban development.
Which personal benefits could be a result, in your opinion, from potential changes in social structure and job market situation?
There is a growth of employment opportunities directly associated with the facility as well as publicity of the “place” that might have some impact. However, the possibility of promoting these changes resides more in the way it is envisioned that the facility will foster economic growth and, more importantly, how it will be accommodate. In this sense, it is the way urban change is managed that is crucial for bringing some of those potential changes to life. One might point, for instance, the need to plan and deliver the infrastructure needed for an increase in businesses around the area and the way office space will be spatially accommodate within the area.
There are other issues that can be raised in respect to the question. One of them is competition with other facilities at a larger scale. In fact, there is the possibility of building too many of these facilities, leading to the failure of some of them.
Some cities that hosted international events provide interesting examples. Portugal, for instance, organized Expo 98 in Lisbon and Euro 2004 in several locations across the country. In the case of the former, the multi-use Atlantic Pavillion has been an extremely successful investment. It became a major venue for cultural events in the city as well as to business related events. It contributed considerably to consolidate Lisbon’s position as a congress-city. However, one might say that several other factors contributed for the success of Atlântico. Just to mention a few, it is inserted in a large waterfront urban development that followed the Expo 98, it is located adjacent to the international fair of Lisbon and there was clearly a lack of spaces of this dimension and characteristics in the city.
As a less consensual example, one can think of the stadium built in Algarve for the Euro 2004. This facility has been controversial because there are no major football teams playing there and it serves a relatively small population. Also, it was built in-between the major cities, in a non-developed area. It is probably early to make assessments about the impact of this investment in the economic and social structure of the area. But its construction was clearly part of a strategy for the development of the region as a whole and one might be able to learn lessons from it in the near future.
In how far does a new arena change the skyline of a city? Do you know any example personally?
An arena, for its size, has always the potential of having a strong presence in the urban fabric of a city. However, usually it is not a tall building so its presence in the skyline becomes intimately related to the location and the architecture of the building.
One paradigmatic example of a significant presence in the skyline of a city is the O2 arena in London. It was built in a riverfront site, which makes it more visible from the rest of the city. Also the architecture is important for marking a stronger presence in the way it adds taller elements to a mainly horizontal structure.
What is your motivation to visit such an arena and which changes would it bring to your leisure time?
From a personal point of view, I would be interested in visiting such a building for two reasons: one is the professional interest, related to the architecture of the building and its relationship with the city; the second, as a leisure trip, to participate in some event, mainly concerts.
What are your personal doubts about multifunctional arenas of this kind and which disadvantages do you see as a result of such buildings?
There are two scales in which we might address this issue:
At a bigger scale, either regional or national, it is very important to assess the demand for these types of events and the already existing offer. It is crucial to understand if building a new arena is needed, if it will not become underused or disrupt other facilities. One possibility of overcoming this issue is to think of these buildings as complementary facilities, which offer different things, even with an integrated agenda.
At a smaller scale, of the city and the urban district, arenas create a main challenge: the spatial articulation of the scale of the building and related open spaces and transport infrastructure with the urban surroundings. These situations of conflict often arise and they become a central problem for the design of these buildings and their relationship with the city.
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