Located within the orographic void that makes up the “Torrent de la Batllona” in Badalona, the football field is integrated within the slope and natural structure of the land.
Semi-buried, the stadium has practically no exterior presence, it is located at the midpoint of its slope, balancing and compensating for the land clearing on its north side with the embankments on its south side. This gesture allows the complex to not to have facades or perimeter walls that confine it claustrophobically and, by settling naturally into the orography of the terrain, it becomes a part of the landscape. The result is an outdoor park that opens to its surroundings and sews up the void traced by the Torrent and causes the continuity of the current urban fabric of this part of the neighbourhood of Montigalà in Badalona. Therefore, the Estadi Municipal de Badalona is not only an important facility for the city but it also serves, on the basis of its perimeter routes, as an interlinking element and communication nexus between two parts of the city that belong to the same neighbourhood but are detached from each other by the great void of the Torrent. The austere and functional conception of the proposal contributes to minimising its impact on the surroundings and gives a soothing sensation, integrated and perfectly seated in the terrain, where a forceful canopy in the grandstand area appears to “float” over the complex. It is at this point in the Stadium that the building is visible from the street, where its presence is more urban. The access to the grandstand area and the windows located on the interior level turns a ground floor building, barely perceptible from the outside, into a football field with a capacity for 6,000 spectators, which can be extended to 12,000.
To finish off, the structure of the building and the stands are completely prefabricated in concrete and the large canopy is built with a spatial mesh covered with anthracite-coloured lacquered aluminium panels, which contributes to accentuating its desired heavy appearance. In short, a building conceived with a constructive multiplicity and very low maintenance and energy consumption, where the leading role goes beyond what is seen to focus on what it means.
