Soccer Stadium La Balastera / Francisco Mangado

Architects: Francisco Mangado
Location: Palencia, Spain
Area: 15,200 sqm
Photographs: Roland Halbe

Construction Management: Francisco Mangado
Collaborators: José Gastaldo, Koldo Fernández, Francesca Fiorelli, Enrique Jerez, Hugo Mónica, Ibon Vicinay
Engineering Structures: NB 35 SL Ingenieros
Engineering Facilities: TEICON
Lighting: ALS Lighting arquitectos consultores de iluminación (Antón Amann).
Technical Architects: Jose Manuel Méndez (Inmobiliaria Rio Vena), Leandro Sacristán (Construcciones Arranz Acinas), Jose Miguel Martín (Hormigones Sierra) Coordinador de Seguridad y Salud, Luis Ángel Pérez Peraita
Construction: UTE Nueva Balastera

From the architect. A football field has a fundamental and obvious purpose: to be a venue for football matches. But it has two other functions that are less obvious, but not for that reason any less important. One has to do with representation. A football stadium today is a work with certain iconic potential for the city. It does not only have quantitative dimensions. It also has qualitative ones. The second comes from the size of a stadium in relation to its largely only occasional use. Is it not a waste of space? Clearly, it is.

The basic idea of this proposal rests on the belief that a stadium is more a building than an infrastructure; a building that can be taken advantage of to house other uses, but that, above all, can and should also take on a civic role. The project proposes perimeter offices and other public everyday uses at ground level, all designed as an urban ‘showcase’ with direct and immediate access from the street. Internally the stadium is a large ‘surprise void’ where, in addition to sporting games, a variety of public spectacles can be held.

The residential setting surrounding the work also calls for a project of urban character. The huge scale of the building, derived from a structural language, is hidden by the perimeter, a perforated aluminum cladding that, in addition, creates a rich dialogue, full of nuances and transparencies, between inside and outside, reinforcing efforts to make the stadium just another building in the city, large but wanting to blend in.

The towers, necessary to illuminate the field, have the most symbolic roles. Lit like large minerals with sculptural qualities, these towers can be seen from several kilometers away, engaging in dialogue across the landscape with Palencia’s cathedral.