Q2 Stadium, a new 20,000-seat stadium for Austin FC, has completed construction. The Gensler-designed project capitalizes on its natural landscape, the city’s cultural heritage, and its tech-forward growth.
The project features one of the largest roofs on a soccer-specific stadium, which will cover every seat, protecting fans from rain and sun. The canopy enclosure features a combination of customized curved metal panel systems on the bullnose, soffit, and edges; and a single-ply roofing on the top side of the canopy. The stadium is also oriented on its site to pull in breezes aided by open corners, an open-air concourse, and breathable mesh fabric seats.
Open concourses and standing areas allow fans to move around and socialize or visit local food vendors. VIP guests can access hospitality-inspired air-conditioned clubs and suites. Multiple outdoor spaces surround Q2 Stadium, including an outdoor amphitheater and a stage for live music. Outdoor spaces are open to the public on non-game days and can host farmer’s markets and concerts.
Q2 Stadium is the first MLS stadium to use Whole Building Life Cycle Analysis (WBLCA) to environmentally optimize the structure and enclosure and reduce embodied carbon. The WBLCA illustrated the environment savings achieved through the use of a cable system to support portions of the roof, as well as optimizations to the concrete mix designs.
In addition to Gensler’s design, the project was delivered with Walter P Moore’s multi-discipline service approach, which includes structural engineering, enclosure engineering, water proofing consulting, construction engineering, and whole building life cycle assessment.
Related Stories
| Mar 25, 2011
Qatar World Cup may feature carbon-fiber ‘clouds’
Engineers at Qatar University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering are busy developing what they believe could act as artificial “clouds,” man-made saucer-type structures suspended over a given soccer stadium, working to shield tens of thousands of spectators from suffocating summer temperatures that regularly top 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
| Mar 11, 2011
University of Oregon scores with new $227 million basketball arena
The University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena opened January 13 with a men’s basketball game against USC where the Ducks beat the Trojans, 68-62. The $227 million arena, which replaces the school’s 84-year-old McArthur Court, has a seating bowl pitched at 36 degrees to replicate the close-to-the-action feel of the smaller arena it replaced, although this new one accommodates 12,364 fans.
| Mar 11, 2011
Community sports center in Nashville features NCAA-grade training facility
A multisport community facility in Nashville featuring a training facility that will meet NCAA Division I standards is being constructed by St. Louis-based Clayco and Chicago-based Pinnacle.
| Mar 11, 2011
Slam dunk for the University of Nebraska’s basketball arena
The University of Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball programs will have a new home beginning in 2013. Designed by the DLR Group, the $344 million West Haymarket Civic Arena in Lincoln, Neb., will have 16,000 seats, suites, club amenities, loge, dedicated locker rooms, training rooms, and support space for game operations.
| Feb 23, 2011
London 2012: What Olympic Park looks like today
London 2012 released a series of aerial images that show progress at Olympic Park, including a completed roof on the stadium (where seats are already installed), tile work at the aquatic centre, and structural work complete on more than a quarter of residential projects at Olympic Village.
| Jan 21, 2011
Sustainable history center exhibits Fort Ticonderoga’s storied past
Fort Ticonderoga, in Ticonderoga, N.Y., along Lake Champlain, dates to 1755 and was the site of battles in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The new $20.8 million, 15,000-sf Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center pays homage to the French magasin du Roi (the King’s warehouse) at the fort.
| Jan 20, 2011
Houston Dynamo soccer team plans new venue
Construction is scheduled to begin this month on a new 22,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium for the Houston Dynamo. The $60 million project is expected to be ready for the 2012 MLS season.
| Jan 20, 2011
Construction begins on second St. Louis community center
O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex in St. Louis, designed by local architecture/engineering firm KAI Design & Build, will feature an indoor aquatic park with interactive water play features, a lazy river, water slides, laps lanes, and an outdoor spray and multiuse pool.
