Architecture

Pacaembu Stadium by RADDAR

Growing up in São Paulo, the Pacaembu name was commonly thrown around by all, especially football fans.

I unfortunately never go to go to the stadium but remember the few times I would take a bus and get a peek of the stadium through the residential buildings that surround it and think how insane it was to have a stadium of that size right in the middle of a neighbourhood.

Now, the iconic stadium has been renovated by the local architecture firm RADDAR, led by Sol Camacho.

The new iteration of the stadium is an elegant evolution that offers greater versatility and community benefits, showing that commercial and social impact considerations can go hand-in-hand.

Firstly, the versatility means that a variety of sports, including e-sports can be accommodated under the new design, ensuring that the usability of the stadium remains higher than it might have been able to in its previous version.

Secondly, these versatile spaces are opened to the public, creating an asset for the local community rather than a source of inconvenience, crowds, and noise. Now, locals have access to an outdoor aquatic facility, athletics track surrounding the football pitch, tennis courts, and areas for social gathering also.

Another aspect which grabbed my attention was the palette of the stand seats. It is very reminiscent of the colour left on plastic seats, much like those of stadiums in Brazil, which have been left under direct sunlight over a decade or more.

The lightened shades of the original colour, some almost turning transparent can often be an indication of lack of maintenance and care, which then brings up in my mind issues of class. A unkempt stadium is a reflection of lack of funds which can reflect the broader struggles of its surrounding neighbourhood.

However, in the case of the Pacaembu renovation, the palette is empowering in its delliberate application and brings a visual equilibrium by contrasting with the reflective harshness of the concrete structure.

This empowering simplicity is executed extremely well since it doesn’t make the final structure look like it has been value-engineered to hell. Instead, it shows a clever and considered design that brings lightness to this massive structure, a quality that is even more important when you consider the surrounding context.

This simplicity is present even in the wayfinding design which is primarily communicated through stencilled typography on the walls.