NBBJ’s proposed design for the new Dalian Shide football stadium in China represents a new direction in sports architecture by moving away from the creation of a building based on pure form.

The organic architecture of the building challenges the typical stadium typology to become more than an impressive skin wrapped around an ordinary seating bowl.

Designed to emulate a garden, NBBJ’s Garden Stadium has only what is needed to thrive, and those functions are clearly organized and expressed. This simple effectiveness in design leads to a dramatically improved fan experience as well as greater ease of operations. In addition, the building’s carbon footprint is minimized, making Garden Stadium a part of a larger sustainable community.