Lagos Breathing Stadium

American University of Sharjah, College of Architecture, art and Design, Sharjah

Project idea

Lagos is a highly polluted area that also suffers from poverty due to lack of jobs. The site of the project itself is a landfill which is now beyond capacity. The concept of the stadium emerged from the idea that the site should now be allowed to breathe. Therefore, the stadium should become a remediator that plays a role in eliminating toxins from the environment around it. This evolves into the idea of biologically activated screens that colonize the stadium, allowing nature to take back the site and grow. The colonies are self-sustaining ecosystems that are irrigated by a rainwater collection system. Each colony will house different ecosystems based on the multipurpose program adjacent to it. The stadium thus weaves into the site by means of the colonies that allow nature to weave into the stadium.

Project description

Enclosures of the stadium are made up of woven plastic compressed sheets that are collect-ed from the existing landfill. The production facility for this will also be provided on the site itself. Some other functions on the site are agriculture, playgrounds, community park and skate parks. These functions represent the vibrance of the context and the people of Lagos. In order to incorporate these functions, the site is divided into organically shaped mounds that represent the impressions of the heaps of trash that used to be on the site. This serves as a memorial to what the site used to be and what it has become. By doing this we seek to imbibe inspiration in the people that eliminating waste allows for vibrant results.

Technical information

The site was approached by considering the toxicity of the existing landfill and the process of remediation. The design strategy is to use everything that the site offers to build a cost effective and self-sufficient stadium. Also to develop a programme strategy that gives back to the community by providing job opportunities and a consistent electricity and water supply to at least the immediate neighborhood. First and foremost, the natural topography will be retained and the logic behind the arrangement of programme will arise from the natural topography. A landfill is usually left-over land that eventually becomes the city’s trash can. Tons of waste from all over the world come to the Lagos Landfill. Instead of transporting it to another place and then disposing it safely,our approach is to repurpose the materials to produce energy and be used as construction materials for the stadium. Therefore, the first phase of the project would be to sort the trash and analyze how to use some of the waste materials in the construction of the stadium itself. Plastics, rubber, steel can all be successfully recycled. Methane can be extracted from the organic waste that forms majority of the Lagos landfill composition and the power gained will be used for the stadium when in use and the neighborhood at other times. Furthermore, various strategies will be used to recycle non-organic waste and produce masonry units for the stadium. This strategy can generate many jobs for unskilled locals and the scavenger community of the Lagos landfill.

Co-authors

Dania Darra, American University of Sharjah
g00063269@aus.edu