Tomorrow’s Together: Drawing the people of the future together

Throughout 2015, Populous have been engaged in a project with PanStadia & Arena Management Magazine to explore what the venues of the future will look and feel like.

Populous architects from our three regional headquarters in Kansas City (Americas), London (EMEA) and Brisbane (Australasia) have come together to contrast and compare their regional viewpoints, and to contemplate the future of sports and entertainment venues. The results of the project will be unveiled at the Stadia & Arena Asia Pacific 2015 event on September 29th.

Over the course of the year, hundreds of ideas have flown around the world, with global input from readers feeding into the conversation. Without spoiling the presentation on Tuesday, here are some the ideas to have come out of the project process, led by Populous architects Paul Shakespeare, Chris Paterson and Greg Sherlock.

Technology: As stadiums develop, people won’t just be connected within single stadiums, but perhaps between venues across a city. And they may be able to experience more than one game at a time.

New vantage points: Future venues will look at new ways to bring fans closer to the team, with higher viewing platforms an option for many sports.

Connectivity: “Connectivity to the urban fabric isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.” Future stadia and venues could become almost seamlessly integrated into the city grid; this artist’s impression shows a proposed venue in the Middle East.

Rethinking the ‘bowl’: Alternatives to the traditional stadium bowl to interact with the local environment.

Ad-fan-tage (see main visual): it’s often mistakenly thought that fans are passive subjects at venues. Of course, in reality, fans can play a huge part in the outcome of games; they are often known as ‘the 12th man’ in soccer and American football. But what if fans could actually change the rules of the game?

Look out for the final results of the project as they are unveiled on Tuesday 29th September.

Will you be at the conference in Singapore? If so, what questions would you ask the team? Email info@populous.com.