Singapore Sports Hub

The National Stadium is the nucleus, complemented by two other competitive sports venues – the OCBC Aquatic Centre and a multi-purpose sports hall, the OCBC Arena. With the stadium as the new centre, the components are organised circumferentially to engage key elements such as the community and recreational facilities, the waterfront, Singapore Indoor Stadium and the MRT station. 

In addition, the Sports Hub incorporates 41,000sqm of retail space, an integrated leisure waterpark, rock-climbing walls, office space for Sport Singapore and National Sports Association, the Sports Hub Library, the Singapore Sports Museum and a diverse range of community sports facilities such as hard courts, a skate park, jogging tracks and beach volleyball court. These different programmes closely connect with the surrounding landscape, activating the urban space.

The close integration of the various components frees up valuable land for public outdoor spaces – over 12 hectares of the 35ha site – and allows the design team to create a key entrance outdoor plaza at each end of the Stadium MRT station – OCBC Square and Arena Park – to provide a great sense of arrival to the hub. Starting here, visitors are able to visit other facilities under shelter through an extensive network of canopies.

National Stadium

The Sports Hub comprises buildings which address two different scales. From a city scale, the centrepiece of the site is the new National Stadium, a monumental dome structure with a movable roof and retractable seating that can be adapted to host a variety of events. On first sight, the distinctive dome shape catches your eye. Upon greater exploration, you realise that the spectacle of Singapore Sports Hub and a newly minted cultural architectural icon – built with a retractable roof – is also the world’s first stadium built with the ability to convert between hosting  athletics, football, rugby and cricket in one venue, all within 48 hours. The movable roof ensures the spectator experience is comfortable in all weathers. The roof opens towards the waterfront and the city skyline, providing a spectacular view to the city as a backdrop for events.

The Social Plinth

The master plan devises a low-rise social plinth to integrate various functions into three connected levels and to act as a social connector space. This 2km-long human-scale structure which the dome sits on, is designed to harmonise with the scale of the surrounding communities, creating an intimate atmosphere from up-close. The contiguous, active social plinth is a unifier of the site-wide facilities, providing shelter as well as humanised connectivity throughout the site. The façade of the social plinth features a vertically louvred screen that creates a visually striking surface that changes depending on lighting conditions and viewing position. The façade treatment dematerialises the block, mitigating the scale of the setting designed to elevate the awe-inspiring stadium dome.

Sports Promenade

Exemplifying the integration of sports and leisure is an unconventional circulation spine called the Sports Promenade which wraps around the stadium. It is the transitional space between the interior and exterior, allowing visitors easy access to all means of transportation while providing a rain and sun-protected space. Strategically, this 900m elevated and sheltered connector links the National Stadium to various key sports venues, lifestyle destinations, public rooftop spaces and green spaces within the hub. It is a thoughtful response to Singapore’s tropical climate, and also offers breathtaking views towards the city and the waterfront. On event days, the Sports Promenade becomes the gathering space for before and after the game. On non-event days, it serves as an exercise area with a jogging track and fitness centres which are accessible all year round.  It creates a new kind of urban and public space, and allows natural ventilation with maximum porosity and movement across the site.

FACILITIES INCLUDE:

• 55,000-seat National Stadium with a retractable roof and comfort cooling

• 3,000-seat OCBC Aquatic Centre, expandable to 6,000 capacity for specific events
• 3,000-seat OCBC Arena, a multi-purpose indoor hall, scalable and flexible in layout
• 41,000sqm of commercial retail space with 18,000sqm of integrated leisure waterpark and rock-climbing office space for Sports Singapore and National Sports Associations
• Sports Hub Library, Singapore Sports Museum and Visitor centre
• Water Sports Centre for canoe, kayak and dragon boat athletes and enthusiasts
• Revitalised 12,000-seat Singapore Indoor Stadium
• Diverse range of community sport facilities including hard courts, skate park, fitness corners, jogging & cycling tracks, lawn bowls, beach volleyball court, etc.
• Over 3,200 car parking spaces in basement and multi-storey block.
   

Design Team:

Masterplan
DP Architects + Arup + AECOM

Architecture
Sports Venues | Arup Associates + DP Architects
Retail, Leisure, Office, Museum, Library | DP Architects