Braga Municipal Stadium
Souto Moura - Arquitectos, SA. Braga, Portugal
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Name of work in English
Braga Municipal Stadium
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Name of work in original language
Braga Municipal Stadium
Prize year
EUmies Awards 2005
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Work Location
Braga, Portugal
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Studio
Souto Moura - Arquitectos, SA
EUmies Awards 2005 Architecture finalists
Collaborators
Program
Sport & Leisure
Completion
2003
The Braga Municipal Stadium is situated in the Dume Sports Park on the northern slope of Monte Crasto. The location was chosen in order to avoid making a dam along the water s edge in the valley. The alternative would have been to move it further to the west up against the hill, like a Roman amphitheatre. Nowadays football is big entertainment, hence the decision to have only two rows of seats. Initially the roof was to look like a long continuous visor (in reference to Siza's Portuguese Pavilion for EXPO 98), but it was eventually modelled on the Peruvian Inca bridges. With a height of 40 metres, the stadium is up against two squares with the same sloping. This enables the building to serve as an anchor point for any future development in the area as the city expands northwards. To the south, the same applied 20 years ago to the Carandá market. Today. it is being amputated to save it from succumbing to gangrene.