Herzog and de Meuron’s Brick and Iron Chelsea Stadium Is Given Mayoral Approval

Updated March 6, 2017.

As any soccer fan will tell you, past victories by no means guarantee future triumphs, and Chelsea Football Club know this better than most. While the West London team struggles for form in the Premier League, they have looked to a consistent performer on the architectural stage to help them build a foundation for renewed success on the pitch: Herzog and de Meuron has been tapped to design Chelsea’s new stadium, and new renderings of the project were revealed this week.

Having been given Mayoral approval this week, the 60,000-capacity arena will be constructed on the site of the existing stadium, Stamford Bridge, which currently holds just under 42,000. According to theIndependent, the planning application process is likely to extend well into 2016, with demolition of the main site starting the following year. With a construction period of approximately three seasons, the current Premier League champions could be playing in Herzog and de Meuron’s stadium from 2020.

The Swiss firm’s proposal is defined by a series of 264 brick piers that encompass the stands — united at their summit by a circular band of steel. Following a riot of metallic ribbons for the Bird’s Nest in Beijing, China, and a forest of gleaming white columns for a new arena in Bordeaux, France, the aesthetic of Herzog and de Meuron’s latest stadium appears positively ancient by comparison. Textured brick is interspersed with elegant iron railings that reference a detail on the club crest: Chelsea’s famous lion holds a metal staff with a distinctive loop at the top.

The piers themselves blend a traditional material palette with a modern structural rationale. Piers supporting stadia and cathedrals around the world are typically constant in their spacing, height, and thickness, informed by the symmetry of the internal layout and the conventions of classicism. However, Herzog and de Meuron has broken this architectural element free from its usual constraints — varying the proportions of each pier in accordance with the perimeter of this compact site.

The resulting series of undulating ribs accentuates the scale of the monumental structure while evoking the textured patina of the surrounding houses, many of which were built more than a century earlier. Combined with iron detailing, the renderings give the impression of a building that has been standing for just as long, tapping into the history of West London and harnessing the timeless quality of brick in a refreshing new way.

The most striking feature of the proposal, though, lies between these towering pillars of brick: soaring covered arcades will encircle the stadium and form protected public spaces for fans to gather and mingle before and after each match. These arcades are four to five stories high, lending the space beneath an atmospheric quality that evokes visions of the Coliseum’s bustling outer gallery.

Seen from above, Herzog and de Meuron’s stadium appears fortress-like, but a closer examination of conditions at street level reveal a structure permeated by texture, light, and — most significantly of all — social activity. Fans walking through the covered arcades will help inject atmosphere around the exterior of the stadium in a way that the current stadium’s utilitarian ground level fails to do while also providing far greater amenities for one of the country’s leading football clubs.

While Chelsea’s capacity to deliver results on the pitch is currently in question, Herzog and de Meuron’s ability to produce striking designs for the stadium typology remains as reliable as ever.

For more images and insight into Herzog and de Meuron’s latest projects, check out their extensive firm profile by clicking here.