It’s SOCHI’s turn to wow the world- Richard Breslin & John Barrow

September 24, 2012

In total contrast to the powerful hockey-blade arches, the stadium will be clad in a lightweight translucent ETFE skin with soft wave patterns across its roof and flanks. Vivid illumination shows will be a principal feature of the iconic architectural and tourism strategy, particularly during the winter period.

Uniquely, the internal concourses spill out onto enormous elevated viewing terraces all around the stadium, giving spectators a panoramic view to the Olympic Park and the sea and mountains beyond.

Of course, the Olympic Cauldron and pyrotechnics displays will take pride of place during the ceremonies, so the design of the stadium anticipates this overlay requirement by unfolding views to the sky, with areas outside the stadium allocated for martialling zones.

POPULOUS as masterplanners and stadium architects, have worked in close collaboration with Botta Project Management, Buro Happold Engineers, and Russian partners MP4 and RASF, with building works carried out by ENGEOKOM for the ultimate client OLYMPISTROY.

The opportunity to work with our Russian friends on such a showcase for the nation, and to pass on what we have learnt from London has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.John Barrow Cropped

I think that our project  team, led by Damon Lavelle, Principal, has created a stunning new beacon for Sochi and for Russia, and I have no doubt  that the Winter Games will be a great success, both during 2014 and long afterwards.

About Richard Breslin:

Richard is a Senior Principal at Populous and a Director of the Asian/Pacific office headquartered in Brisbane. Richard also sits on the worldwide strategic Board of Populous. Richard is responsible for all of the firm’s projects in New Zealand and Australia.

In 1997, Richard commenced work with the team on the design of Stadium Australia (now ANZ Stadium), the main venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. At this time, he also worked on the event overlay for the Games, reviewing initial designs for Homebush Olympic Park.

Following the successful delivery of the 2000 Summer Games, Richard worked on the design of the 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium, before leading the design team for two stadia constructed in Portugal (Estadio da Luz in Lisbon and Estadio Algarve in Faro) in preparation for the UEFA Euro 2004 soccer competition.

In 2006, he was Project Leader for the design of the Soccer CIty Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was also appointed project leader for Populous’ successful master plan for the London 2012 Olympic Park. Populous designed the main stadium for the London Olympics and was part of the Overlay team for the Olympic Park.

In 2007, Richard emigrated to New Zealand, where he led the teams on the design of the 60,000 seat Eden Park redevelopment in Auckland and the 30,000 seat Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, the first fully covered fixed roof stadium with a natural grass pitch. Both were venues for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Richard is now working on a range of projects in Australia and New Zealand, including the sports hub which is part of the blueprint for the rebuilding of Christchurch, following the earthquakes.

Richard Breslin’s isportconnect-profile-widget

About John Barrow:

As a senior principal of Populous, John is involved in the planning and design of major sports and leisure facilities. He managed the construction of Faro and Benfica stadia in Portugal for Euro 2004, the O2 Arena in London and headed the design team for the Speed Skating Arena for the Winter Olympics in Torino 2006, which won the IOC-IAKS Gold Medal 2007. As Principal in Charge John headed the Populous team masterplanning London’s winning 2012 Olympic Games bid, and more recently, Glasgow’s winning bid for 2014 Commonwealth Games.

John is currently leading the Grand Stade project for Olympique Lyonnais, a world-class innovative 60,000 seat stadium complex for the French premier league football club. He was also behind the London 2012 Olympic Overlay project, which included temporary venues at Horse Guards Parade and Greenwich Park for the Beach Volleyball and Equestrian events respectively. Having successfully developed our activity in Russia John is actively involved in the Sochi 2014 masterplan, Sochi 2014 Olympic stadium and the Kazan 2013 stadium projects.

John Barrow’s isportconnect-profile-widget

{jcomments on}