Qatar 2022 Stadiums

As part of the bid, Arup Associates has designed a 500-seater “model stadium” that will be carbon zero and be a development platform to refine these technologies for application across Qatar and potentially across all arid regions. The Showcase was commissioned in order to demonstrate to FIFA and the world-wide audience that the harsh climate over the summer months is no longer a barrier to hosting global events.

It is an investigation into innovative, cutting-edge solutions for creating a controlled microclimate over and around the football field, and other public spaces. Paramount to the Showcase is the promotion of sustainability, environmentally friendly technologies and first-of-its-kind innovation. The Showcase serves as a proof-of-concept for innovative cooling and climate control technologies.

The Showcase is based on three key aspects: an exciting architecture and structure which develops traditional passive design ideas to a new energy-saving and comfortable architecture; photovoltaics that convert the energy of the sun into electricity; capturing and converting the sun’s heat into cooling for summertime airconditioning using under-seat supply. The ideas used in this Showcase are intended to show how energy can be considered as an integrated aspect of architecture, engineering and infrastructure with renewable energy contributing for the first time at scale in Qatar. Following Qatar’s success in the bid, a range of stadia, fan zones and other facilities will be required for The World Cup Games

Power from the Sun

Just outside the Showcase is a photovoltaic installation- a sun farm, connected to the structure’s electrical system and the national grid. The venues’ solar panels will operate year-round, continuously exporting electrical energy to the national grid. On a match day, the higher electrical demand will bring electricity back into the facility from the national grid.

This national grid electricity, together with generators using biofuels, provide robust and reliable power for both technical and general power, so the events are assured power during the World Cup. The amount of electricity generated in this way from the sun exceeds the amount of electricity imported for events over the year, making the facility zero carbon for electricity.