Basra Sports City, Iraq

Inspired by Local Influences

To shape its design of the city's marquee venue, 360 Architecture (now HOK) turned to local influences and timeless icons, from the date palm tree to woven goods. Designing the stadium in the shape of fronds from the trunk of the date palm, the architects wrapped it in a facade of interwoven fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) panels, giving the oval-shaped structure a basket-like appearance. Echoing the patterned facades of traditional Iraqi homes, the textured skin also copes with the effects of the local climate.

High Performance Design

In all, more than 48,000 square metres of BFG's advanced synthetic cladding was needed to encase the stadium, forming large double curvature panels each 32 metres long and stacked five levels high, to interweave with steel support columns. The 288 external panels, as well as the stadium's roof sheets, are all supported by a massive structure weighing 19,000 tons.

The panels were required to meet rigorous performance criteria to withstand the harsh environment in Basra and the parameters of the site, including separate measures for strong winds, blowing sand, seismic loads, high humidity and corrosion -- in addition to high levels of fire resistance to BS476 Part 7 standards.

BFG's Contribution

• Complete design, engineering and supply of 288 double curvature FRP cladding panels for the main stadium, including the design of the fixing systems. Composite panels were constructed in FRP sandwich construction with a Tricel honeycomb core. Weight approx 25kg per square metre.
• Innovation of special 'indexable tooling' to enable high levels of CNC productivity. 16 different moulds were used to make the five types of panel.
• Custom development of key manufacturing processes including gelcoat spray, pressure-fed roller based lamination and core placement.
• Adherence to stringent fire and smoke requirements for all gel-coats, resins, fibres and foam cores.
• Development of bespoke transportation jigs for handling and storing large panels.

Challenges

Once fabricated in Bahrain, the on-site requirement for large format 32 x 6m shaped panels made for complicated logistics, as shipments made the long distance journey to Basra around the Gulf. With just four fixings for the larger panels -- direct exposure to wind on a sea port location, extreme temperature variation and a sandy and corrosive saline environment -- all demanded an ultra durable solution.