Malpasse Stadium in Marseille, France by Guillaume Pepin and Fabrice Giraud

Malpasse Stadium by Guillaume Pepin and Fabrice Giraud forms a modest but sociable centrepiece to the surrounding district

This case study was featured as part of Typology: Stadium, published in the Play issue (AR May 2021)

While some large-capacity stadiums try all sorts of dubious tricks in the attempt to blend in with their surroundings, smaller facilities stand a better chance of achieving this without having to resort to improbable metaphors and vernacular references. This is doubly true when the surroundings themselves are known for their somewhat unforgiving qualities. This project in the 13th arrondissement of Marseille is an expansion of an extant pitch which proceeds by retracting partially beneath the surface. The low-lying, fair-faced concrete structure encompasses such essential facilities as changing rooms and toilets, with a little drama supplied by a staircase that gives access to the stands via the pitch. The stadium forms a modest but sociable centrepiece to the surrounding working-class district of tower blocks, which has been subjected to much disruptive (and controversial) renovation over the last decade.

Source: https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/typology/malpasse-stadium-in-marseille-france-by-guillaume-pepin-and-fabrice-giraud-2019

Department of Architecture: https://www.ibu.edu.ba/department-of-architecture/