Work has begun on a sports campus in the eastern Chinese city of Quzhou that is designed to resemble a landscape that "falls somewhere between that of Earth and Mars".
The campus, designed by Beijing-based MAD Architects, occupies 700,000 sq m in the coastal province of Zhejiang. When complete, it will combine a 30,000-seeat stadium, a 10,000-seat gymnasium and a swimming centre that can accommodate 2,000 spectators.
MAD says the terrain appears to be a "Martian landscape, mysterious and illusory". For example, the stadium is in a crater beneath a translucent "halo", and the other features are located amid rolling man-made.
Forests cover 70% of Quzhou, which inspired MAD to design a "surreal, ethereal and tranquil artistic landscape in this modern city, like a mirage, that has the potential to become a place of spiritual belonging for the future of the city".
Ma Yansong, MAD’s founder, said: "We dream not only of creating an urban space about sports and ecology, but also turning it into a unique land art park for the world."
The campus will also contain a sports complex, science and technology museum, hotel, youth centre and retail space.
Images courtesy of MAD Architects
