«Stadiums are elements completely detached from the cities. They should live each day and each week of the year» Massimiliano Fuksas reflects on sport buildings
Fuksas’ first project: a gym for Sassocorvaro, Italy
The sports hall in Sassocorvaro – a small town in Central Italy, near Urbino – is one of the first works realized by Massimiliano Fuksas in 1972, only a few years after he had graduated in architecture in Rome in 1969.
As he says: «At the time, I had never built a building. I was around twenty-seven years old and the first thing I wanted to do was to show that I was not a beginner. I had no experience of construction sites, and fortunately I met Sante Forlani, with whom we later became great friends. He was very skilled in handling cement. Of course he understood perfectly that I had no experience, but he said nothing. He was an extraordinary person, and he helped me a lot even later, in my first steps in the profession.The building was almost completed when the military coup took place in Chile and, to commemorate that terrible event, I decided to imprint a series of images on the concrete».
Massimiliano Fuksas: A stadium is an element completely detached from the city
Although football still offers a sense of identity and place, stadiums and sports facilities are often structures that intertwine multiple relationships between identity and history, economic interests and media exposure, urban integration and restoration requirements and innovative technological solutions. The architect keeps explaining:
«A stadium is an element completely detached from the city. In Italy, the stadium is often only accessed on Sundays and all the other days of the week it is inactive. In other countries,, the stadium is a public space that lives every day and every week of the year. In Italy the relationship between the city and the stadium should be completely redesigned».
Fuksas: old stadiums, new cities – Italy
Football in Italy is one of the most important movements in the world, and it is often experienced as a faith. The sacrality of the venue, full of happy and sad memories, is one aspect of stadiums in Italy that comes to mind.
Yet, most Italian stadiums are in poor condition: «In Italy when you build something you think it is eternal and instead, especially materials such as reinforced concrete, after twenty or thirty years need conservation works, because there are no eternal materials».
In Italy most of the sports facilities currently in use were built between the 1930s and 1960s and because of their historical and cultural value, they are classified architectural monuments and subject to restrictions.
Maintenance in architecture according to Fuksas
«Maintenance is the most important thing, but unfortunately it is not required by any building regulations. Many of Italy’s sports facilities predate the eighties: they are ancient and sometimes obsolete».
This consideration is relevant if we consider that often these architectures are fascinating concrete structures, examples of visionary and innovative engineering and design. In Rome, Stadio Flaminio is one of many arenas and sports buildings designed by Nervi and one of his most celebrated buildings.
In 2011, despite its architectural and historic importance, the stadium was decommissioned due to declining use, showing how the survival of these architectures is irrevocably dependent on their use: they are destined to perish, as monuments only to be visited if they lose their original function.
Flaminio stadium in Rome – between public and private
«Flaminio stadium has been neglected and abandoned, and today it seems that no one knows that there, under the bleachers, there is a wonderful Olympic swimming pool and other spaces for sport. It shows that if architecture is neglected, it ends up like that. It is a loss».
Today, the historical replacement trend for sports stadiums indicates that stadiums tend to have a lifespan of thirty years. Massimiliano Fuksas explains: «In Italy, public administration is not always able to guarantee the protection and enhancement of urban heritage. Public institutions have difficulty in taking responsibility for public works».
On the other hand, in recent years the effect of increased attendance and revenue from new venues has increasingly incentivized private club owners to pursue new projects.
Massimiliano Fuksas: Italy stands still – a new approach
«In the collective view the conviction still holds that the private is oriented towards maximizing its own interest as an investor, and that the public always tries to carry out works while making as much savings as possible. Unfortunately, sometimes it works like this».
Since 2012 there has been talk of Roma’s stadium. For several years there has been talk of Milan’s San Siro Stadium. In Parma, a few months ago a participatory process was concluded with the citizens regarding the realization of a project capable of redeveloping the facility. While in the rest of the world stadiums have been transformed from utilitarian concrete and steel bleachers into architectures capable of entertaining and offering exclusive and innovative services, Italy stands still.
Fuksas: spaces for everyone, not for a few
Between the uncertainty of renovating existing facilities and the possibility of starting new design work, inertia often prevails. «Usually this approach is only overcome at certain times, when there are big events or deadlines that are almost epic. In these instances, there is a decisive intervention, whatever it costs, and it usually costs a lot».
Stadiums and sports facilities are among the oldest forms of urban architecture, they have been the heart of our cities and remain at the center of public debate. Designing and building stadiums that are functional for the city, comfortable for the fans, and efficient for the environment remains the main challenge, Massimiliano Fuksas is sure about it: «It takes a lot of care and thought to create spaces for everyone and not for the few».
Asked if there is a sports hall he dreams of building, the architect replies: «I would like to build many sports facilities. Perhaps, the one I would build with great pleasure would be a new stadium for Napoli, because of its unique public and fan base. Of course, I would like to do it just after having designed the one for the Roma club».
Massimiliano Fuksas
Massimiliano Fuksas is an Italian architect of Lithuanian descent, born in Rome in 1944. He is a prominent figure in contemporary architecture, having received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career.
