When you are designing a stadium for the World Cup, or any major sport, it’s vital to have a fan’s-eye view. For more than a century, the architects tasked with designing stadiums have used the C-value, developed by Victorian theatre designer John Russel. But this value just measures the view in one direction, towards the stage. Sporting events are viewed in the round, with fans all around the stadium bowl.

In this episode, we hear from Mark Fenwick, whose practice has designed stadiums for the Qatar World Cup, and for leading European football teams. He explains how Fenwick Iribarren has built on the Victorian concept of C-values and sightlines in theatre design, with the FI-Factor, a new system for mapping the spectators’ view from each seat in a stadium. 

Mark describes the sub-factors considered, explains how this was first used during bidding for a new world cup stadium at Education City in Qatar, its subsequent use in Valencia, and its scope for use on other stadiums.

Guest

Mark Fenwick, Partner, Fenwick Iribarren Architects

Partner

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