Melbourne, Australia is known as the sporting capital of the world. On the banks of the Yarra River, their 270-acre downtown sports complex is world-renowned destination, and features 8 stadiums — including the world's largest cricket ground, and the home of the Australian Tennis Open. But despite these great venues, and their total capacity of over 250,000 people, something HUGE is missing. There is no stadium for soccer and rugby — Australia's two most popular sports.
Now, to capitalize on a $100 billion industry, and live up to their nickname, the Victorian government has invested nearly $270 million to create one of the most innovative stadiums ever built — the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. But don't let the name fool you; it's much more than just a rectangle. Melbourne wanted their new stadium to be the crown jewel of their sports district — an icon for the entire city. So they've commissioned the most structurally innovative arena in the southern hemisphere. The MRS will be a living, breathing work of art on the outside, and the ultimate athlete and spectator experience on the inside.
First Ever Geodesic Stadium Roof
Fans who attend games at Melbourne stadium will experience live sports like never before. Melbourne rectangular stadium will be the only stadium in the world covered with a geodesic roof — an ultra-strong complex geometric structure, which uses 50% less steel than a typical cantilever roof and is entirely self-supporting from the outside. For the first time ever, this stadium roof will have no dome, and no pillars. It lets in the maximum amount of fresh air and sunlight, but still allows fans totally unobstructed views of the pitch from all vantage points, putting them in the middle of the action.
World's Most Advanced Cladding
The geodesic roof looks cool, and because of its cladding, it also keeps the building cool. This roof is covered with a supercooling armor, a complex combination of transparent, translucent, and opaque louvered steel and glass panels and vents, which are all manufactured on site. This reinforced cladding supports the structure, and controls every environmental factor in the MRS. It channels the sunlight to maintain the grass, while bringing in just the right amount of wind. Even with Melbourne's summer temperatures topping out at over 110 degrees, the carefully-designed cladding system will make this open-air stadium as comfortable as your living room.
Tough Turf to Stand up to the World's Toughest Sport
Stadiums are where engineering meets anatomy. Wildly popular, Australian Rugby is the world's most punishing sport (with the fewest pads). So for the playing field itself, architects had to create a surface that allows humans to push themselves to their physical limit. The 135,000 square foot field is a precise mix of sand, gravel, clay, and grass firm enough for nimble footwork, but just soft enough to prevent injury. After each layer is laid to the millimeter, the grass is harvested from a nearby farm and shipped in by the truckload to top it off.
World's Most Intricate Stadium Lighting
The stadium atmosphere both inside and out will be carefully controlled by one of the most intricate lighting schemes ever attempted — even more advanced than Beijing's Water Cube. Rock band U2's lighting designer helped adorn the MRS with thousands of LED lights that can be manipulated to display millions of different lighting patterns and images. In addition, four tower lights will extend from the four corners of the roof to illuminate the field perfectly, without any shadowing.
One of the World's Most Efficient Stadiums
Doing more with less is a cornerstone of Australian culture and the Melbourne rectangular stadium is a shining example of that. In addition to its bioframe roof, and self-ventilation, the stadium will include a rainwater collection system that saves more than 500,000 gallons of water per year. The system will be so large that it will supplement the water supply for four other venues in the precinct, and it will all be controlled by a central computer, to ensure the complex is operating at maximum efficiency.
