Aerial view of a modern urban park with white angular terraces and crowds, bordered by highways and a distant lake.
La Scala - South Shanghai Sports Center
China
  • Cultural
  • Landscape Design
  • Sport
  • Competition

The Sports Center La Scala stands as a trailblazing example of successfully merging sports, nature, and culture. The significance of sport centers, especially stadiums, for a city is undeniable; however, they often pose a challenge to the urban fabric. Typically, they are lively only during events but remain empty and unused at most times.

To seamlessly integrate La Scala into a natural landscape, this design transforms a stadium into a gathering and leisure spot for the local population. The existing park is being extended over the building, adorned with numerous shade-providing trees. This creates an inviting environment for a wide range of outdoor activities, including table tennis, various ball games, climbing gardens on the facades, hiking trails, and skate parks, inviting people to engage in sports and enjoy nature.

An important aspect is the site‘s high quality to spend time, achieved by blending the stadium with nature. The population receives not only a modern sports center but also a rejuvenating retreat amidst an ecologically valuable landscape. This concept not only promotes sustainability but also enhances the residents‘ well-being and health.

The ecological strategy ensures the preservation and reconstruction of the existing natural area at the same time. Extensive tree plantation creates a pleasant microclimate that can reduce temperatures by up to 5 degrees Celsius during the summer. This measure contributes to climate adaptation and re-duces heat islands in the city.

To focus even more on an environmental commitment, a new method of humus buildup and anchoring tree roots comes to play, which was imported from Japan and successfully tested. This technology not only alleviates the burden of heavy construction for trees but also preserves the soil and environment.

Instead of the stadium body, the entrance areas are architecturally emphasized to create an inviting atmosphere. On the rooftop landscape restaurants, small shops, bars, and a sports museum offer a wide range of entertainment and leisure options for all age groups.

Project Manager
Dušan Sekulić

Project team
Andreea Birzu, Roland Lipusz, Thomas Peter-Hindelang, Gianmarco Paglierani, Lisa Reichenecker, Stanislav Subbotin, Mira Al-Suradi

Visualization
Toni Nachev

CONSULTANTS
Project Coordination
Yiju Ding

Landscape Design
Yiju Ding

Structural engineering
Bollinger + Grohmann ZT GmbH

Mobility Concept
Redas engineering


Line sketch of several flat-bottom boats with people on deck, aligned on a calm water surface.

La Scala

Modern sculptural museum on a stepped hillside with trees; pedestrians on a plaza and a person with a dog on the sidewalk.

„An important aspect is the site‘s high quality to spend time, achieved by blending the stadium with nature. The population receives not only a modern sports center but also a rejuvenating retreat amidst an ecologically valuable landscape.”

Aerial view of a multi-level urban park with green terraces, curved pedestrian ramps, and surrounding roads and high-rise buildings.

71822 m² park area
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2385 trees implemented

Wide view of a modern white angular building complex with green-roof terraces; trees atop structures, with pedestrians and cars along a street.

Evolution of Form
Site - Building - Park

Aerial view of a city plan with large green fields and crisscrossing roads.
Aerial view of a city plan with dense trees in a park and a circular red-roofed stadium.

Site
Fitting of Program

Aerial view of a forested park with a winding pedestrian path beside a canal in a modern urban landscape.

Extention of Park as a Roof
La Scala, Shanghai

Futuristic urban park with a large white canopy pavilion and crowds, lush greenery, water features, winding paths, and distant skyscrapers.

multi-sport indoor fields
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3.2 km bicycle and hiking routes
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multi-sport outdoor venues

Public plaza in front of a modernist cultural center with a slanted, overhanging roof; people stroll and gather as sunset glows.
Ice hockey game on a bright rink inside a packed indoor arena with a crowded audience and red banners.

Main Arena

Indoor futuristic swimming pool arena with angular white ceiling; swimmer in lane; spectators in bleachers.

Swimming Arena

Cross-section rendering of a multi-level cultural center with a green rooftop garden, showing interior atriums and people in an urban setting.

Longitudinal Section
Stadium

Cross-section of a multi-level building with rooftop gardens and underground levels, trees on terraces.

Cross Section
Stadium

Public plaza at a modern sports center; angular building, crowds on white steps amid trees under a sunlit sky.
Aerial view of a modern urban park with white angular pavilions and terraced greenery, busy with people, surrounded by high-rise apartments at dusk.
Futuristic layered white concrete pavilion with trees on the roof; pedestrians on the plaza, vehicles on the highway in the foreground.
Modern cultural center with angular glass entrance built into a sloped grassy hill; pedestrians on terraces, cars on the highway in daylight.
Outdoor modern architectural complex with angular white terraces, trees, and crowds; a tram crosses a road in the foreground.