Located on a stunning, central, 35 hectare waterfront site, the Singapore Sports Hub provides a unique ecosystem of sporting, retail and leisure spaces, at the pivot between Singapore’s expanding city centre and the wider public community.

• 55,000-seat National Stadium with movable roof, ultra-thin dome roof structure. 
• The world’s largest free-span dome, spanning 310 meters. 
• Innovative moving tier design to accommodate a wide range of sporting and cultural events for year-round activity. 
• Energy-efficient spectator cooling system designed for Singapore’s tropical climate. 
• The largest sports infrastructure Public Private Partnership project in the world.

At the heart of Sports Hub is the new Singapore National Stadium, a state-of-the-art 55,000 seat sports venue.  The innovative design, led by architects and engineers from Arup, is a model for future sustainable stadium design. The stadium is air-cooled for comfort and designed with a movable roof and retractable seating to support the widest range of sports and leisure events throughout the year.

Adjacent to the stadium are community, recreational and retail spaces, all conceived as an integral part of the wider masterplan, by Arup, DP Architects & AECOM. Landscaping is an essential component of the public realm, its design and planning resonating with Singapore’s identity as a Garden City.

Design versatility

Versatility is central to the stadium design and is a key factor in the stadium’s high footfall. By integrating moving tiers, palletised turf modules and a fully closing roof, this is the first stadium in the world custom designed to host athletics, football, rugby and cricket all in one venue. It also hosts major international concerts, shows and festivals with the dramatic skyline of the city of Singapore as a backdrop.

An engineering feat
The National Stadium roof, at 310 meters, is the world’s largest free-span dome.  The moveable roof provides shade and cooling when required and of course shelter from rainfall. The roof is left open when the Stadium is not in use, keeping the grass pitch in healthy condition. The moveable section of the roof incorporates a matrix of LED lighting and, at 20,000 square meters, it is one of the largest LED displays in the world.

Comfort in the tropics

The National Stadium is a model for tropical climate design. It features an innovative energy-efficient spectator cooling system that delivers cooled air to every seat in the stadium. These pockets of cooled air will reduce energy use significantly, compared to a more conventional overhead cooling system. The ultra-thin dome roof structure with a movable roof that extends over the pitch provides shade during events.

Total Architecture 

Arup has a long-standing track record of bringing the best of its international expertise to large projects around the world – and there is no better story to tell than its role in delivering the design of the Singapore Sports Hub.

A key tenet of design at Arup is the concept of ‘total architecture’ or holistic design from city scale to spectator. This philosophy was exemplified in the way design teams were organised to foster collective thinking in the development of Singapore Sports Hub.

Innovative ideas were nurtured and delivered, to make the Sports Hub a venue perfectly matched to its location. It meets all its objectives: providing a day-to-day recreational sporting environment for all of the city’s residents, and a unique, sustainable and spectacular setting for international sporting fixtures and world-class concerts.  A magnificent sporting and event facility, the Sports Hub will serve Singapore well for many decades to come.

About Arup Associates

Arup Associates is an architectural design studio, studio within the international consulting engineering group Arup. We are part of a global legacy associated with excellence and innovation in the built environment. We center our approach on creating beautiful, effective and technologically advanced buildings that encourage people to fulfil their potential.

Collaborative by nature and informed by Ove Arup’s belief in ‘total design’, we understand that built space will be inspirational when all of its components work in harmony. At Arup Associates, we are not interested in formalist solutions. It is this philosophy that informs our award winning, holistic design approach. We pride ourselves on our power to transform people’s every day experiences and our ability to work with clients from a wide range of industries and geographies. We are international leaders across a range of sectors, with experts in sports and sports venue design, commercial, transport and science and industry.

Arup Sport Venue Design (SVD) is the specialist sport division of Arup Associates. We provide comprehensive venue design solutions to architects, organising committees, contractors and event organisers across the globe. SVD has a fourteen year track record in the design and delivery of iconic sports venues, where our contribution ranges from bowl and sports venue architecture, through to the numerous specialist engineering disciplines associated with professional sport.

For more information please contact Joanne Ronaldson ([email protected]) or visit Arup Associates’ website ( www.ArupAssociates.com).

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Client: Dragages Singapore & Singapore Sports Hub

Singapore National Stadium

Architecture and Sports Venue Design: Arup Associates

Engineering: Arup Group

Singapore Sports Hub Design Team

Arup Associates + Arup + DP Architects + AECOM

Completion: Summer 2014