Located in Mexico's western city of Guadalajara, Atlas FC is the nation's most long-lived football team. Celebrating the tradition and history of the club, architecture practice Sordo Madaleno has designed its new home, which includes six professional football fields alongside clubhouses, applied sport science facilities and administrative offices.
Inside the new Atlas FC grounds 'Academia Atlas'
The main driving force behind this project was to provide accommodation and resources to younger players from less privileged backgrounds. The building, called Academia Atlas is designed from locally sourced materials, and nods to the area's traditional construction techniques. Mexican red brick was used to reference the football team’s identity and specifically designed for the building in terms of proportion, colour and functions, which not only looks eye catching but also allowed for significant waste reduction during the construction process.
The sports facility was designed around a modular system with open-air voids and a grid-like design, composed of columns and beams. These intersect each other, offering ventilation and shade.
The seven-hectare site also offers a college campus feel for people to gather and interact. The passages which connect the building to the rest of the grounds offer shaded protection from the midday sun, and act as a winding street around the complex. The bones of the design allow for constant development so that the building can evolve and grow with the club’s future needs.
The overall landscape design only incorporates endemic species with plants thriving during different seasons of the year. Due to the hot climate, the local species require less maintenance and water consumption to excel in their natural habitat. Some are encouraged to climb up the building’s façade allowing for the club to have a fluid and cohesive design with its environment, the team at Sordo Madaleno explains: ’We wanted to create an enclosure within a vast flat landscape that is highly exposed to the elements, and we wanted to bring green areas inside Academia Atlas to show how important planting and wildlife are in giving us a sense of belonging somewhere.’
At the heart of the design is its spiralling outdoor staircases which act as a seamless route between indoor and outdoor spaces. This is replicated in the spectator seating, which welcomes friends, family and the public to watch a match creating a vibrant, lively atmosphere and sense of community.
atlasfc.com.mx
sordomadaleno.com
-
We walk through Luther George Park and its new undulating pavilionLuther George Park by Trahan Architects and landscape firm SMM Architects opens to the public, showcasing a striking new pavilion installation – take a first look
-
Soft rock: Kelly Wearstler unveils new stone furniture with ARCA at Design MiamiKelly Wearstler has joined forces once more with stone brand ARCA to create interlaced onyx furniture with a soft appearance
-
‘Architecture Encounters’ traces period-defining built environment stories in Togo and West Africa‘Architecture Encounters’ (Les Rencontres Architecturales de Lomé) in Togo celebrates and explores West Africa’s rich heritage through the prism of conservation and transformation, kicking off with two days of talks, workshops, exhibitions and tours at Palais de Lomé
-
Discover Casa Roja, a red spatial exploration of a house in MexicoCasa Roja, a red house in Mexico by architect Angel Garcia, is a spatial exploration of indoor and outdoor relationships with a deeply site-specific approach
-
HW Studio’s Casa Emma transforms a humble terrace house into a realm of light and spaceThe living spaces in HW Studio’s Casa Emma, a new one-bedroom house in Morelia, Mexico, appear to have been carved from a solid structure
-
An Oaxacan retreat offers a new take on the Mexican region's architectureThis Oaxacan retreat, Casa Caimán by Mexican practice Bloqe Arquitectura, is a dreamy beachside complex on the Pacific coast
-
Take a plunge at Brandílera House on the Mexican Pacific CoastBrandílera House by Manuel Cervantes Estudio is a Mexican Pacific Coast retreat making the most of its views and green site
-
Step inside Quinto Sol house, a verdant oasis in Mexico's Pacific CoastQuinto Sol house by architect Cristina Grappin blends indoors and outdoors in a masterful architectural composition in the Mexican countryside
-
Lucha Libre and modernist architecture meet in Mexican short film ‘El Luchador’‘El Luchador’ blends Lucha Libre and architecture, in a Mexican short film set in Agustín Hernández Navarro's modernist home Casa Praxis in Mexico City
-
Mexico’s Amelia Tulum is where ‘the architecture becomes part of the jungle’Amelia Tulum by Sordo Madaleno combines a human-centred approach and lots of greenery to craft a Mexican residential community like no other
-
Scenic Garden offers architectural pavilions and a new green lung for Mexico CityScenic Garden, designed by Michan Architecture and a team of collaborators, adds green infrastructure to Mexico City's bustling urban experience
