NEXT magazine - Venue of the future - DAY & ZJA

INITIATED BY DAY creative business partners ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects

ISSUE01 Olivier Smit Vitesse Manfred Laros Sparta Hein Vergeer All-round speed skating champion Derk Loorbach Professor of Transitions Willem de Kok Martini Plaza Jan Willem Luyken North Sea Jazz Festival Peter van der Veer Rotterdam Ahoy

REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA Creating a vision from the ground up STADIUM 2.0 Discovering what an Ideal Stadium might be AROUND THE TABLE Eight gentlemen discuss the future of sports and leisure venues over dinner

Venue of the future

Revamped Thialf ice arena Creating a vision from the ground up

Around the table Eight gentlemen discuss the future of sports and leisure venues over dinner

Stadium 2.0 Discovering what an ideal stadium might be

Rotterdam Ahoy A multifaceted venue

In this magazine DAY creative business partners and ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects present themselves and their work, but also wish to provide a platform for the voices of athletes, sports marketing consultants, managers of football clubs, and multifunctional centres like Rotterdam Ahoy and MartiniPlaza in Groningen.

They asked an expert, Derk Loorbach, professor in transitions at the Erasmus University for his views, and invited partners we worked with from Amsterdam ArenA, Transportium and Hypercube to come together for dinner and have a conversation about the future of sports and leisure venues.

This magazine is presented to you by ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects and DAY creative business partners, offering a showcase of our combined creative value.

CONTENT

Colophon Editors ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects Reinald Top, Rob Torsing DAY creative business partners Gesina Roters, Louk de SĂŠvaux

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10 TOPICS

Improvement is essential to the future of a small club like Sparta

Designer DAY creative business partners Niels Ploeg DTP Swirl grafische vormgeving Petra Gijzen

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Production ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects Annemarie Weijer

Printing Be Ink Portrait photography Joram Blomkwist

Contributors to this issue Olivier Smit, Manfred Laros, Hein Vergeer, Sander van Stiphout, Pieter Nieuwenhuis, Willem de Kok, Derk Loorbach, Peter van der Veer, Jan Willem Luyken Roy Klompmaker, Catch Your Moment (Marco Lubbers), Ewout Huibers, Bart van Hoek, Charles Batenburg Thialf, Technodrome, Indoor Golf Arena, Ziggo Dome, KNVB Campus, Rotterdam Ahoy, B2S, Nike, Miele, iOmniscient, Randstad, ING, Otium Group (Jim Caporusso)

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OLIVIER SMIT

Football clubs and their stadiums can be viewed as the churches of today

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The noise of the crowd lifts you up just that little extra bit

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REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

Creating a vision from the ground up. After two years of hard work, Thialf is again the fastest, most sustainable and most modern skating arena in the world

DAY creative business partners Mandy Sturkenboom

Translator Water Services Liz Waters-Pitt

MANFRED LAROS

Things to think about when developing a public venue of tomorrow

Design Director DAY creative business partners Gesina Roters

Copy Editor Dirk van Weelden

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HEIN VERGEER

CONTENT

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ZJA COMPANY PROFILE

An international architectural office specialised in sport & leisure, infrastructure and public transport

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ZJA CASES

Designing and building sport stadiums featuring Thialf Ice Arena, Technodrome, Indoor Golf Arena

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STADIUM 2.0

Close-up on the ideal stadium

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STADIUM HEROES

The iconic venue experience that includes lifelong tangible memories

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AROUND THE TABLE

Eight gentlemen enjoying a four course dinner to discuss the strategic context for developing, designing or renovating large sports and leisure venues

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CONTENT

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DAY COMPANY PROFILE

A concept, brand and design agency creating empathic and integrated design to make brands tangible, sensorial and spatial

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DAY CASES

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DERK LOORBACH

How does the role of sports and sports venues change in the face of transitions in society, like digitization, the energy transition or decentralisation?

Creating destinations featuring Ziggo Dome, KNVB Campus and Musis Sacrum Arnhem

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Developing a place where people stay for longer

WILLEM DE KOK

ROTTERDAM AHOY No longer ‘just’ a functional space, but a flexible venue that can accommodate more than 15,00 people

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The future is no less exciting

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PETER VAN DER VEER

CONTENT

117 I expect the new building to be another step up

JAN WILLEM LUYKEN

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A destination is never a single brand experience; it is what we call a social experience, and as such a platform brands and other stakeholders can contribute to

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FROM SPONSORING TO PARTNERING

GET IN TOUCH!

DAY creative business partners ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects

WHAT IS HAPPENING ?

Trends in stadium design

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EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

OUR VIEW A COLLABORATION BETWEEN ZJA AND DAY

In these first two decades of the twenty-first century, we have seen our lives quickly become more digitally connected, more urban in style and rhythm, and increasingly individualistic. We may be wired to the world, but we all seem to be living in our own hectic bubble.

There are not many occasions when people from different walks of life, different ages and cultural backgrounds come together.

Sports seem an obvious contemporary exception to that trend.

The powerful potential of sports to combine the media with economic, cultural and social interaction is something that immediately comes into play when the focus turns to developing and designing stadiums, arenas and sports centers that truly engage the future. The opportunities for business and for social and technological innovation are plentiful.

The sports and leisure buildings of the future will function more and more like public living rooms, a Third Place To Be alongside Home and Work. They will be integrated further into the urban environment, in close proximity to shops and offices. They are likely to house schools, or healthcare facilities, and they will be important trail-blazers for innovation in sustainable building, waste management, and ways to connect business and education.

We believe that developing big sports and leisure venues should be a process that does not start with the needs of one club or company, or a financial plan that fits an attractive location, but with the question of what a city or a region needs, other than a new stadium or a congress hall. Such buildings must be designed to thrive, to change, to be part of the city. Building a support system in and around a stadium or sports venue, to give it life, culturally, socially and economically, will require new and unconventional forms of collaboration and a more organic and context-related

approach to development. Having collaborated in the renovation of the legendary Thialf Ice-Skating Arena in Heerenveen and having received the German Design Award 2018 for its design, ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects and DAY creative business partners decided to publish The Next. It is a shout-out to kindred spirits, a presentation intended for future partners and an invitation to join us on our journey to explore the sports and leisure buildings of the future. This magazine may be a one-off, or it may be the first in a series. Such is the open nature of our research. We invite others to join us.

There is good reason to team up with others in creating this magazine. Our experience shows that the value added by ZJA’s complementary skills in architectural design and the input of creative business thinking by an office like DAY can add much to the development and building of a successful sports venue.

We want to communicate to the world our ideas on the innovative development and design of stadiums and sports venues as multifunctional urban buildings.

In this magazine we present ourselves and our work, but we also wish to provide a platform for the voices of athletes, sports marketing consultants, managers of football clubs, and multifunctional centers like Rotterdam Ahoy and MartiniPlaza in Groningen. We asked an expert, Derk Loorbach, Professor in Transitions at the Erasmus University for his views, and invited partners we work with from Amsterdam ArenA, Transportium and Hypercube to come together for dinner and have a conversation about the future of sports and leisure venues.

A reflection on that conversation can be found here. We would like to thank everybody involved for sharing their ideas and experience.

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Different perspectives

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GADGETS

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INTERVIEW OLIVIER SMIT

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INTERVIEW MANFRED LAROS

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10 topics

10 Things to think about when developing a public venue of tomorrow. From signage to safety, connectivity to sustainability and context to food - it’s all part of the game.

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Signage

Experience

Location of the signage should be part of the process of planning the building and the environment.

Venues no longer just provide a space for the event, but integrate the overall personalised experience for the visitors.

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Context

Partners

Do not become a monolith that is separate from the environment. Constantly search for ways to connect with people and the city to stay relevant.

Brands are relying more and more on the venue to help them bring their message and content to life. Use this to optimize your physical experience!

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10 TOPICS

05 Connectivity Enable every fan to connect with the world by creating a high density WiFi stadium.

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10 TOPICS

06 Sustainability Take your responsibility and become a model for environmental sustainability.

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10 TOPICS

07 Safety By harnessing technology to ensure a safe fan experience, venues can potentially minimize the risk of violent incidents and avoid the subsequent revenue loss.

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10 TOPICS

08 Garbage Maximise recycling, minimise waste, measure what you’re disposing, educate and involve your staff.

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xx 10 xx TOPICS

09 Food While junk food remains the game day staple at stadiums and venues, creative culinary offerings continue to play an important role in ensuring a successful event.

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10 TOPICS

10 Adaptability Create a hybrid location that can be adapted to multiple needs to ensure that the full potential of space can be exploited.

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Football clubs and their stadiums can be viewed as the churches of today.

INTERVIEW

OLIVIER SMIT CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER AT VITESSE ARNHEM

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he kind of collaboration as seen between ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects and DAY creative business partners is essential for the development and renovation of big sports venues nowadays.

In technological and social terms the world is so dynamic, and the investments needed for these buildings so immense, that you have to be aware that the future can catch up with your planning before you know it. The main questions concern how to move into the direction of a connected stadium, offering new ways of conveying the total experience of sports or other entertainment, and how to develop an economically sustainable future.

In my opinion the way to go is to take the sports side of things as a core and build the social and economic alliances you need to secure your future around it. For instance: collaborate with tech start-ups or scale-ups and develop the media experience of football inside and outside the stadium. Collaboration with schools, city councils, energy providers and other businesses is instrumental in making the most of the ecosystem within which a club and a stadium exist. Unfortunately Vitesse does not own the stadium, so our opportunities in this respect are somewhat limited.

It’s not just a matter of economics and technology. Football clubs and their stadiums can be viewed as the churches of today. They have a diverse social footprint and our club, Vitesse, has a portfolio of social activities focussing on socially weaker neighbourhoods and youth, under the heading ‘Vitesse betrokken’ (Engaged Vitesse). I believe that for a football club, corporate social responsibility is a must.

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Improvement is essential to the future of a small club like Sparta.

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INTERVIEW

MANFRED LAROS DIRECTOR, SPARTA ROTTERDAM

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parta is a football club with enormous pride in its traditions, and our stadium, Het Kasteel (The Castle) is set right in the middle of the Spangen neighbourhood of Rotterdam. Of course that is an asset, but is also makes it quite difficult to live up to the changing requirements of a modern football club.

We have little room to expand, and combining our stadium with a high school, for instance, as was done with the new stadium for FC Oss in the province of Brabant, is impossible here. The same is true for large retail franchises like Media Markt.

When you ask me about the future, I can only envision the most urgent step: to renovate Het Kasteel, to make sure the experience of visiting the stadium is improved, whether it be the seating, toilets, catering or atmosphere. Of course we also invest in websites, social media and so on to strengthen the bond between the club and its fans. But our home needs improvement. That’s essential to the future of a small club like Sparta.

The proverbial two afternoons a month are not enough to keep a stadium afloat. So we rent out sky boxes, sponsor lounges and other spaces to businesses during daytime, as well as collaborating with schools.

We offer internships in our restaurant to a school, which makes sure we have enough staff during matches. But it’s not all about money; the club is eager to expand its social presence in the neighbourhood.

We have started a Social Sports Association that focuses on Spangen which sets out to inspire kids to be more active and exercise or participate in sports.

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From sketch to reality

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REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

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INTERVIEW HEIN VERGEER

REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

From the ground up

For the Dutch, ice skating is far more than a sport.

Ice skating is part of the long tradition of competition, fun and games on ice in the Netherlands, providing an exuberant and festive atmosphere whenever skating competitions are held in Dutch arenas. Thialf in Heerenveen is internationally famous as the temple of speed skating at sea level. In high altitude arenas skaters record faster times, but Thialf, already a fast track with its closed roof since 1986, wanted to close the gap and decided to carry out a rigorous renovation.

After two years of hard work, Thialf is again the fastest, most sustainable and modern skating arena at sea level.

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THIALF IN THE MAKING

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THIALF IN THE MAKING

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Photo Roy Klompmaker

REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

Hospitality area references the iconic exterior. Photo Marco Lubbers - Catch Your Moment

OPTIMAL ICE-SKATING CONDITIONS The glass wall is functional in isolating the competition area and creates a better indoor climate. In the past, moisture that came in from outside with the visitors, as well as the exhalations of the crowds, would condense on the ice and adversely affect skating conditions. In the new Thialf an air curtain between the stands and the track ensures specific thermal conditions, such that temperature and humidity can be managed separately in all three areas: promenade, stands and track. The new state-of-the-art installation can tune ice temperature to the precision of a tenth of a degree and adjust it for various sections of the track. Thialf provides skaters with the fastest ice on the best-equipped track at sea level.

THE ICE RINK AS A FOCAL POINT Fans are hungry for top performances, and Thialf is where they expect their heroes to perform. The revamped Thialf is designed to focus all attention on the magic of races in which athletes, supported by their fans, can rise above themselves. The design, the lighting and colour scheme of the ceiling and the ice rink draw

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REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

The track as a natural main focal point draws the spectator’s eye to the action. Photo Roy Klompmaker

the spectators’ eyes to the action on the ice. The gradient predominately seen in Thialf is divided into four rings, each with a specific theme, going from light to dark: the ice rink, where performance and passion rule, is bright and light; the promenade with the glass wall is where you get your information and drinks; the ring is the area where exhibitions offer the discovery of new and historical background; and the entrance area is the place for orientation and for meeting friends and family.

a distinctive signage system throughout the building. Brightly coloured panels, signposting the public services with custom-made pictograms, give Thialf a unique personality. As such, Thialf is immediately identifiable on screen.

In each area the graphic design accentuates the focus of the visual experience and communicates the routing.

Sections of blue foil decorate the glass wall around the ice rink with records, names, phrases and quotes from athletes. The cut out shapes are also reflected within

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REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

Orientate & Meet

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Develop & Discover

Intelligence & Information

REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

Glass wall around the ice rink

Thialf exterior

Photos Roy Klompmaker

SPORTING EXPERIENCE The new building extends two arms of glass outwards to embrace the stream of visitors. The promenade inside is the spacious connecting element for all functions. There is easy access to the stands during events, with enough room for serving points and meeting places. From the promenade a glass wall gives a magnificent view of the track, drawing the public’s attention and triggering interaction between athletes and fans.

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REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

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REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

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Photo Marco Lubbers - Catch Your Moment

REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

>50 5000 5 1250 %

years

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energy reduction

solar panels

until it provides its own energy

households provided with energy

REVAMPED THIALF ICE ARENA

The most sustainable arena in the world SUSTAINABILITY The renewed Thialf is an extension of the oval structure of the existing building.

As much as possible of the old building was preserved in the new design. The initial ambition was to reduce energy consumption by up to 50%, but with a high level of thermal insulation, the application of underground heat and cold storage, as well as LED lighting, an energy reduction of more than 50% was achieved. Thialf also produces energy by means of 5,000 solar panels on its roof. The goal is for it to provide for all its own energy needs within five years, with enough spare to supply 1,250 households. At this point the Thialf ice-skating arena has the largest sunroof of all stadiums in the Netherlands, and it is the most sustainable venue of its kind in the world.

For the design of Thialf, ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects worked in close cooperation with DAY creative business partners on the interior, and with a construction consortium of Heddes Bouw & Ontwikkeling, Croonwolter&dros and Warmtebouw.

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INTERVIEW

HEIN VERGEER FORMER EUROPEAN AND WORLD CHAMPION ALL-ROUND SPEED SKATING CHAMPION 1985 AND 1986 NOW MARKETING AND SALES CONSULTANT

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s an athlete, when you come to a stadium or skating arena what you really appreciate is an environment where you can change, wash, have a massage, do your warm-up and so on in a place that is roomy, clean and pleasant. And to be left to yourself. A professional athlete before the race or match needs to get into ‘the zone’, a level of concentration usually reached through uninterrupted routines.

So the transition from the changing room or prep area to the pitch or the ice rink should be free of clutter, meaning there is no distraction by journalists or fans, just a neutral atmosphere.

Coming into the arena you get settled.

I usually did a slow round of the track, greeting the fans, trying to make contact.

You perform for them, you need them when the going gets tough and you need that extra push in the back to rise above yourself.

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The noise in a stadium can be deafening, and I had to get used to the fact that the Thialf ice rink has a roof. In those early days there was no acoustic design, the noise was off the scale. Nowadays they have the noise levels under control much better. The noise of the crowd can lift you up just that little extra bit.

There is so much to improve. Think of lighting. We are only beginning to understand how light influences the athletes’ perception and mood during races and matches. I’m looking forward to future developments.

The noise of the crowd can lift you up just that little extra bit.

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ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects

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COMPANY PROFILE

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CASES

COMPANY PROFILE ZJA ZWARTS & JANSMA ARCHITECTS

Established 1990

ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects is an

Founded in 1990, the office is led by Rein

Number of employees 30-55

and specialised in sport & leisure,

Since the early years the office has grown

Headquarter Amsterdam (NL)

international office, located in Amsterdam infrastructure and public transport.

Jansma, Reinald Top and Rob Torsing.

steadily and has accumulated a thorough experience.

Office address

Postal address

Contact details

Pedro de Medinalaan 7

PO Box 2129

Phone +31 (0)20 535 22 00

The Netherlands

The Netherlands

Website www.ZJA.nl

NL-1086 XK Amsterdam

LARGE-SCALE PROJECTS We have acquired a reputation in designing large-scale projects such as sports and leisure buildings, public transport and infrastructural projects, and bridges. In recent years we have expanded our activities to other countries such as Germany, Belgium, Eastern Europe, Georgia, the UAE and the Nordics.

OUR MISSION We are an optimistic team that translates often complex assignments into unexpected solutions. We do this in a distinct manner, based on our many years of experience with large-scale building projects. We value our reputation as designers of stadiums, bridges, stations and motorways.

ZJA draws on state-of-the-art technical expertise thanks to, amongst others, its independent research & development department. In addition, our office boasts an inspiring, multinational and international network of complementary expertise, ranging from structural engineers, urban designers and acoustic engineers to interior architects, sustainability experts and software developers.

Wherever we go, we look. At people, at cyclists, at queues, at building materials, at rituals, at supporters, at how people move in a park, at history, at menus,

NL-1000 CC Amsterdam

Email info@ZJA.nl

at a dune, at advertising. Everything we see finds its way back into our work.

A large pool of experienced and qualified freelancers can reinforce our team at any given time. We only employ highly skilled architects. Most of them graduated as Masters of Science, some of them were educated at an Academy of Arts. Besides their regular activities they further specialise themselves and transfer their knowledge to the other architects. As a result, everybody is kept up to date on the latest developments in engineering, technique, material, architecture, regulations and sustainability.

HOW WE OPERATE Our organisation is accredited with the ISO 9001:2015 quality certificate. This certificate is a proof of an organisation’s capability not only to meet its own goals, but also the demands of clients and (international) regulations. Before we start designing, a work-scheme is made indicating how the whole process will be organised, what has to be done, and what the client can expect at which point in the process. After the completion of every phase a clear and comprehensible document states the progression made.

Only after the approval of the client the next phase will be started. This ongoing control mechanism ensures that a product will always meet the client’s demands.

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Wherever we go, we look and everything we see finds its way back into our work.

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COMPANY PROFILE ZJA

A smart, cool & adaptable facility for travelling venues Shaded Dome Technologies is founded by Royal HaskoningDHV, ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects and Poly-Ned. The Shaded Dome is a semipermanent facility, comprised of an air-supported, environmentally controlled dome in which a pleasant

microclimate is created. The dome is positioned under a tent layer (the Shade), supported by a steel cable structure. This passive design element provides the dome with protection from often demanding climatological conditions like for example solar radiation, wind, high air temperature, humidity and precipitation. www.shadeddome.com

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1928 In 1928 the Summer Olympic Games were held in Amsterdam.

It was the first time women had been allowed to compete and the first Games with an opening ceremony during which an Olympic flame was ignited. And who performed this solemn act?

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The Dutch Queen Wilhelmina preferred to visit friends in Norway. Her husband Prince Hendrik was present in the stands, but no: out of the question. A great champion then? Or Alberto Guani, the Uruguayan president of the League of Nations? No, the person who lighted the first Olympic flame was an employee of the Amsterdam Municipal Gas Company, which had built the installation and supplied the gas. He was appointed by lot.

Very Dutch, but it also reflects quite well the way sports were seen at the time, as a modern, healthy and amusing leisure activity, but essentially trivial. Athletes were almost all amateurs, so there was very little money in sports. Real social status could not be gained through athletic success.

You had to be content with the cheers and

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The Olympic Stadium during the Olympic Games of 1928

the medal. Of course everybody acknowledged the way a football club united a town or a neighbourhood, and understood the social function of a Catholic gymnastics club, but in this respect as well, sports were of decidedly lesser importance; the union, the churches, the schools, the political parties, the universities and news media with an overt political or religious ‘colour’ provided the inspiration, cohesion and ideological direction for social life.

People lived in a class system, in religious and ideological ‘pillars’ and tight-knit communities.

Professional sports, the sales of sporting goods, sportswear, and all the attention for sports in mass media, including betting, have mushroomed into global businesses. Sports are big entertainment and therefore a powerful marketing medium.

Large sports organisations have considerable political influence.

In short, designing and building a football stadium, a highperformance sports facility or a skating track has become an activity in which big economic, social and cultural values and interests are at stake.

Life has changed drastically. All these traditional institutions have lost their directive influence. Society has become more diverse and more individualistic, but also more international, more anonymous and more massive. People still want to belong. Nowadays sport seems one of the few areas left where people from all sectors of society can experience an inspiring fusion of individual and collective emotions. Apart from remaining an important leisure activity, sports are used to promote emancipation, social cohesion and charity, and as therapy or a way to enhance public health. Sports have become a huge economic factor as well.

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CASES ZJA ZWARTS & JANSMA ARCHITECTS

the aim of being the best was the total separation of recreational and professional sports. What top athletes need for their training, recovery and preparation tolerates no concessions. The spaces for care, physiotherapy and power training are separated. But there should be the maximum connection possible between athletes and supporters. To accommodate this the building is divided into three zones: the track with the central area, the stands, and the gallery with service facilities. Between the stands and the gallery a glass wall has been erected to ensure that the climate in the hall is not in direct contact with the outside and is therefore more controllable. An air curtain separates the climate on the track from that on the stands. There are no columns to obstruct the view, the ceiling is low and smooth, to minimize air turbulence and to improve aerodynamic conditions for the skaters as far as possible.

BUILDING FOR TOP-CLASS SPORT Top athletes are the focal point for the social meaning of sports.

All the social and cultural functions that sports can have, like popular recreation or involvement in community work, are supported and often fuelled by the public’s relationship with the footballers, the athletes, the skaters or basketball players they admire. Athletic heroes give focus to the attention, the emotions and the motivation they generate.

What happens when you design a facility for top-class sports, for speed skating for example, keeping that dynamic in mind?

The building should provide an environment in which athletes are able to give their best performance, but also be the location where they meet their audience, their fans. The cycle of mutual stimulation between athletes and supporters that can cause athletes to rise above themselves is ultimately the only permissible form of doping. Moreover, if sports were exclusively about the rules, the times and the points, nobody would ever get up and move away from the television screen. When a runner makes a comeback after a spell of injuries and, close to exhaustion, defeats his rival in a man-to-man finish over the last thirty meters, we all want to hear singing, see teddy bears flying, and watch the winner thank his supporters with tears in his eyes. Sports are a form of improvised theatre where drama, self-sacrifice, heroic resilience against all odds, the emotions involving team spirit and the grief of defeat are shared. The same is true at lower levels, at the local table tennis finals or a football tournament for ten-yearolds. Audience and athletes work together to produce the sporting event as a collective emotional experience.

When ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects designed the revamped Thialf speed-skating facility it was crystal clear that it had to become the fastest and most sustainable track at sea level in the world. It also had to enable top-level audience participation, during tournaments but also in a general sense, as temple for speedskating enthusiasts. The first decision that followed logically from

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The revamped Thialf is an example of design that takes the requirements for top performances as its starting point and allows those technical and practical elements to organise the space in which the exchange between supporters and athletes can fully develop. In Thialf all attention goes to the transfer of power onto the slippery ice, by way of extremely thin steel strips.

If that succeeds, to optimum effect and under the best conditions, speed and beauty emerge. Which is why there is a direct link between the technical finesse of the athlete’s movements, the technical sophistication of the building, and the experience and influence of the supporters.

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Photos Marco Lubbers - Catch Your Moment

The revamped Thialf ice arena

Maximum interaction between athletes and supporters

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The velodrome is part of the Technodrome project

Technodrome: A multifunctional center

MULTIFUNCTIONAL IS SMARTER If one views sports as an integral part of society, there are opportunities to develop sporting venues with a vast array of other functions. Authorities, businesses, schools and universities can all profit. A case in point is the design of the Technodrome for the city of Geleen, in which ZJA was involved. The innovative aspect of the plan was the multidisciplinary process that produced the actual design. The original idea was to see cycling as the connecting element for a centre that would combine innovation, tourism, health, economic impulses, social functions and education.

Next to a new velodrome a laboratory was planned in which the professional Giant cycling team could test bicycles and training methods, including the scientific use of data. A wind tunnel was planned as well, a rare and valuable asset. To turn the Technodrome into an international center for cycling, there was a need to facilitate cooperation with universities and polytechnics in the area, as well as businesses (like DSM), and engage them in innovative food, training, physiotherapy, clothing and mechanics. The link to the local community was seen as equally important. A BMX track, a mountain-bike trail and a large

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CASES ZJA ZWARTS & JANSMA ARCHITECTS

A BMX track, a mountain-bike trail and a large separate asphalt track

Technodrome: focus on innovation at the highest level

separate asphalt track for the cycling club are part of the Technodrome project.

It also offers locations for shops. The overarching idea is the showcase function that the focus on innovation at the highest scientific and technical level will have, by stimulating education and by supporting recreational sports and tourism, specifically recreational cyclists who want to ride on the famous hilly track of the only Dutch classic race, the Amstel Gold Race, nearby.

conditions are met the chances are that business and public interests will find each other, ensuring that financing, exploitation and maintenance are considered just as carefully and just as seriously as integration with education, recreational sports and the local community.

Such a complex plan can succeed only if all participants and stakeholders are involved in the development of the recognises design, in an open and engaging process. This requires time, patience and above all trust. It also recognises that standard procedures will prove insufficient, so custom-made solutions are required. When those

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he time for T mono-functional sports facilities far from the urban centers is over.

Typical Golf simulator installation

Some 10.000 m2 of synthetic grass practice facilities

NEW BUILDINGS FOR SPORTS It is possible to design a sports facility according to demand, the need for a new stadium for example, and combine that with an analysis of the location, forging new relationships with the surrounding area, perhaps integrating a school or a professional training center into the football stadium. On the other hand there are ZJA designs that result from the analysis of a phenomenon, like the perceived inaccessibility of golf. The courses are in remote areas, a round of golf takes half a day. There are also social and financial barriers that make it hard to join golf clubs, although there are many people who enjoy the game and would even spend time and money to improve their performance. Then there is the weather that can ruin the day.

The system of private clubs, golf licenses and high club fees is outdated. While there

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are many developments that have made golf more accessible, like open golf clubs, day cards and municipal courses, it takes more than that to engage people to play golf and stay involved. Indoor Golf Arena is designed to offer solutions to all these points. Playing under a roof is obviously not a replacement for an experience on the open course, but it is a practical complement and a way to give access to the sport. It also provides a smart and comfortable environment in which to improve one’s game. Clothing and gear are for rent, just as you rent shoes and bowling balls in a bowling alley, or a pair of skates at the ice rink. Your learning curve can become much steeper than on the open course because of the ready availability of teachers supported by video coaching and advanced digital techniques. This allows you to practice and receive feedback on all aspects of the game, including teeing off,

CASES ZJA ZWARTS & JANSMA ARCHITECTS

Artist impression of Indoor Golf Arena

playing from bunkers or high grass, and putting on the green. The concept of Indoor Golf Arena works best when it is located in an urban area, so that playing golf can compete with a visit to the tennis hall or the gym. Learning to play golf well, and developing a love for the sport in Indoor Golf Arena will motivate more people to visit regular golf courses.

At the moment golf is a sport dominated by middle-aged men, but Indoor Golf Arena is designed to include young people, women and children and make them feel at home in golf, which is why a hotel and an open area for cafĂŠs, gaming halls, shops and restaurants are part of the design.

The time of mono-functional sports facilities far from urban centres is over.

In the future top-class professional sports and recreational sports will integrate,

sports and social events will merge, and research, education and health projects will increasingly find each other in a sports setting. It appears that an important role will be played by the sophisticated combination of an actual social experience (as a player or a supporter) and the use of digital media. This is something to which locations, programmes and designs will adapt. The widely appreciated social function of sports clubs turns stadiums and other sports facilities into ideal locations for homework coaching, hands-on education, courses and training of various kinds.

The underlying vision is that sports are the ideal medium to promote a positive agenda in a widely accepted, engaging and economically sensible way. To make the city a fairer, better place to live, where people can prosper, live healthily and contribute to the energy transition, offering a livelier and more diverse cultural life.

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CLOSE UP ON THE IDEAL STADIUM

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STADIUM 2.0

Close up on the ideal stadium

In 2005 ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects investigated the characteristics of an ideal viewing experience for a crowd attending a match. They calculated the right angles of the stands in relation to the field to ensure optimal viewing from all sides. Curving the four sides of the stands made them flow together, creating a stronger sense of togetherness and enhancing the experience of a match.

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STADIUM 2.0

The Ideal Stadium 2.0 is a multifunctional, scalable and sustainable building, with a long life as a changing element of the city.

The Ideal Stadium 2.0 features a helium roof

But an ideal stadium is not just a question of geometry. Big-league football, FIFA World Cup tournaments and the Olympic Games present us with far more complex problems and challenges. To discover what an ideal stadium 2.0 might be, ways need to be found to make it an optimised and integrated element of the city, ensuring maximum sustainability and deploying the latest technical advances to deal with mobility, energy and the flexible use of space. This is how ZJA sees the Ideal Stadium 2.0.

Since the 1950s stadiums have increasingly been built with an eye to the comfort of the spectators, with roofs, better seats and catering facilities, making them quite unlike the relatively spartan designs of the 1930s and 1940s. The stadium disasters of the 1980s, especially the Heizel disaster and the Bradford fire, where scores of fans died, necessitated a rigorous rethink.

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The enormous investments necessary to build venues for big tournaments and the Olympic Games also accelerated the trend towards multifunctional stadiums where exhibitions and concerts can be organised, and where shops and restaurants or office space attract people on days when no matches are on.

The Ideal Stadium 2.0 is a problem designers have to solve that can also be viewed as a tool for improving urban surroundings, for supplying a city with public space, valuable facilities and housing. In ZJA’s thinking the Ideal Stadium 2.0 is a multifunctional, scalable and sustainable building, with a long life as a changing element of the city. By using rain for cooling, sunlight to generate energy through PV cells, and the orientation toward the sun to optimise shading and heating, the stadium strives to be energy neutral. Geothermic systems and materials

STADIUM 2.0

The roof can be taken off or scaled up and down

that absorb CO2 can make an important contribution as well.

The design features a helium roof of floating lightweight material consisting of an outer ring and a detached central part. This too creates opportunities to generate energy.

To accommodate all the people and businesses flocking to it, the modern city is becoming denser and more compact. The Ideal Stadium 2.0 can contribute a solution to the urbanist and infrastructural puzzle by becoming a multifunctional node in mobility networks, combining residential, educational, cultural and commercial functions with its function as a sports venue.

When a stadium is designed into the network of a compact city, the areas around the stadium turn into lively and socially diverse public spaces, making all the square meters it has to offer very attractive.

The maximum capacity of an Olympic stadium might be used during the games and very rarely, if at all, after that. The same is true of the big football stadiums. The Ideal Stadium 2.0 takes this into account and has an outer ring that can be detached as a separate building, to be developed as homes, offices or something else. The playing field in this design can be lifted to expand its surface or lowered to shrink it again. The roof, consisting of a

central solid circle and a ring attached to the stadium, can be taken off or scaled up and down. Over a longer period, the stadium can even gradually disappear to become a cluster of residences, educational and healthcare facilities, a theatre, a museum, a library or a convention center. On the ground floor shops, restaurants and cafĂŠs can thrive.

The playing field can eventually become a square, or a park, perhaps combined with urban gardening. The maximum-capacity stadium of Olympic proportions is just one phase of this scalable, multifunctional design.

The essence of the Ideal Stadium 2.0 is that it is designed as a node in a living urban tissue. To make the most of the location and its infrastructure, and of technical possibilities that help to design flexibility and sustainability into it.

To anticipate changing needs and the drive towards a compact, tightly interconnected city.

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Stadium Heroes

The iconic venue experience that includes lifelong tangible memories. Remembering the timeless rituals while embracing future technologies.

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All a real fan needs

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Always connected

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STADIUM HEROES

Venue Essentials

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Between the lines

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A DINNER CONVERSATION

Around the table

Meeting on a dark December night at the offices of ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects overlooking the IJ from the IJburg Island in Amsterdam, eight gentlemen enjoy a four-course dinner and discuss the strategic context for developing, designing or renovating large sports and leisure venues. Coming from different disciplines and professional positions, they shine light on questions such as: what does it take for a big sports venue like a football stadium to succeed as a place to experience sports, as a business and as a part of society or the city?

And what are the obstacles?

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A DINNER CONVERSATION

REINALD TOP ZJA ROB TORSING ZJA HEIN VERGEER TRANSPORTIUM PIETER NIEUWENHUIS HYPERCUBE LOUK DE SÉVAUX DAY SANDER VAN STIPHOUT AMSTERDAM ARENA DIRK VAN WEELDEN MODERATOR THEO GLAUDEMANS DAY

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The stadium is the interface between a football club and its service area.

- PIETER NIEUWENHUIS

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A DINNER CONVERSATION

SANDER VAN STIPHOUT: I can safely say that Amsterdam ArenA is doing well, which has a lot to do with the foresight of the people who developed it. In 1996 it was one of the first of its kind, a multifunctional stadium, with a retractable roof and surrounded by a retail area. Yes, there was some investment by the City of Amsterdam, but from the start the city anticipated and demanded a multifunctional facility. In short, what counts is looking beyond the direct wishes of the club in question to create a vision for what the city around it requires, and being able to anticipate what such a hugely costly venue needs to survive.

PIETER NIEUWENHUIS: People overestimate the economic clout that football has. There are about 500 million euros going around in Dutch football; our economy amounts to about 700 billion.

It’s not even one thousandth. And still it draws 5 to 10% of all media attention, it occupies millions of people every day - it really is our national sport. In economic terms it’s not so big. The importance of football is mainly a matter of the heart. Investment in a new stadium or an extensive renovation, costing hundreds of millions sometimes, is very risky and has to be based on solid data. The stadium is the interface between a football club and its service area. It’s its home.

There’s a relationship between the location, the capacity of the stadium and the population of the area it serves. Heracles Almelo initially wanted a 20,000-seater stadium, but that would have been disastrous because you’ll never get a steady 94% attendance, and you’d lose too much sponsorship value. A well-equipped, stateof–the-art, comfortable 12,000-seater, as they have now, is perfect for a club like Heracles that competes for sponsors and attendance with Twente in the same small region.

HEIN VERGEER: The political structure of this country doesn’t help. This service area you mentioned, containing the population necessary to sustain a stadium, almost always crosses municipal boundaries. Local politicians can block such developments, because they view them as plans by ‘other people’ and don’t want to be part of ‘their’ projects. The Netherlands is densely populated, Dutch people are highly mobile, yet we make a big thing out of the fact that a slightly different dialect is spoken twenty kilometres away.

PIETER NIEUWENHUIS: To be able to play at a top European level, one football club should represent the entire Randstad, the metropolitan area that includes Amsterdam, Haarlem, Rotterdam and The Hague. But a club with such an enormous geographical magnitude is utterly impossible in this country and will never happen.

Football is a local business. In our data sets we identified the tribal rivalry factor that relates to the attractiveness of the smaller distance between the home and away team.

DIRK VAN WEELDEN: Is that not exactly its emotional and entertainment value, that football offers stylised tribal warfare?

REINALD TOP: When Rob and I visited the United States we experienced a very different sports culture. No hooligans, only home crowds and stadiums or sports venues right in the middle of metropolitan areas, in the same blocks as shops, offices and residential towers. In twenty-five years from now, will we be building our stadiums at locations like the Zuidas, Amsterdam’s financial district? Isn’t it wonderful when stadiums are really part of the urban tissue and interconnected with all those other functions?

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PIETER NIEUWENHUIS: I‘m afraid land prices are too steep and the Dutch are very conservative when it comes to leaving their cars and taking public transport. In the US people come from a wide area and spend a whole day in the stadium with the entire family.

Most of the money is earned in the stadium. In the Netherlands people arrive right before the match and leave immediately after the last whistle. And they don’t travel for more than half an hour max.

So I think it’s very unlikely.

DIRK VAN WEELDEN: What in your opinion should the fusion of strategic thinking and architectural design we advocate in this magazine focus on?

DIRK VAN WEELDEN: If it’s so hard to sustain a stadium from ticket sales, food and drinks sales and sponsorship money alone, what are the lines along which you connect the sports venue with its urban environment?

SANDER VAN STIPHOUT: Sure, Dutch spectators are a critical lot, not easily satisfied. We’ve invested heavily in Wi-Fi and 4G. And football has to compete with many other forms of entertainment.

But to my mind the most important aspect is designing with an eye to the future, by which I mean the building should be prepared for expansion and for radical changes in use, preferably in a modular way, so that adaptations and additions can be achieved seamlessly.

Expanding is close to impossible in the case of Amsterdam ArenA. Way too expensive. Another crucial aspect is the need to incorporate into the design a programme that ensures a lively atmosphere in and around the stadium, not just on match days.

PIETER NIEUWENHUIS: It depends. You have to look at each specific situation. But it helps if you find a lacuna in the retail landscape and succeed in integrating local retail.

SANDER VAN STIPHOUT: You also have to look for the elements of government policy that need to be facilitated and housed: schools need a location, start-ups look for favourable spots as well, and you have to realise that in a city the home of the football club can have a community-hall function. You could surely add value by capitalising on the desire to create social cohesion.

DIRK VAN WEELDEN: Maybe this is something to ask about all the other sports besides football. They need their top facilities too, they also mobilise many people and have the same potential to enhance social cohesion, stimulate social participation or contribute to healthy living, just like football.

HEIN VERGEER: The major problems there are the small budgets.

There’s hardly any money, apart from subsidies. Then there’s the lack of professionalism in boardrooms, federations, clubs and so on.

The economically less powerful sports rely heavily on government and charity. There’s no business case for the smaller sports and recreational sports, so their position can only be improved bottom up, by citizens uniting, finding sponsors and convincing local politicians.

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PIETER NIEUWENHUIS: I would say comfort for the visitor, first and foremost. Transport to the stadium, getting around in the building, the seats, the lighting, the design, the information, the food and drinks. It’s all about improving the quality of the hospitality.

THEO GLAUDEMANS: Until recently I was on the board of the football club Helmond Sport, and the plans for their expanded stadium include a school for technical and vocational training. Kids can work there as interns, and develop a bond with the club and the stadium. These things are happening around the country and they offer opportunities.

HEIN VERGEER: Maybe the point is that the people commissioning the stadium should have the vision to opt for a combination of strategic thinking and architectural design. And it’s the vision that’s often lacking.

SANDER VAN STIPHOUT: That’s true. In my work as consultant I often find myself educating the commissioning authorities. In Qatar we suggested they turn some of the stadiums into greenhouses, and they become a leader in research and development on horticulture under glass for the region, after the World Cup.

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The idea of the brand experience is dead in my opinion.

- LOUK DE SÉVAUX

LOUK DE SÉVAUX: But it remains risky, even if they educate themselves. Politics makes these processes unstable. For electoral reasons, football clubs in trouble will always receive some sort of public support, but there’s seldom room for a long-term vision.

DIRK VAN WEELDEN: And what about the future of sports venues? How decisive will the electrification of car transport be, the growing influence of digital media, the energy transition?

HEIN VERGEER: I think stadiums will get smaller. The total experience of sports is increasingly shared and integrated into other parts of our lives through digital media. Skating and football need packed stadiums, for sure, but the future is about building communities around the experience of sports and creating ways to inform, entertain and connect people. Of course these platforms and events have economic and social components. I see opportunities to connect sports venues with programmes that support healthy living, cooking, healthcare and care for elderly people. As we are trying to do with the Transportium.

SANDER VAN STIPHOUT: In our case the city of Amsterdam initiated a series of interesting connections and collaborations.

They asked us to be ambassadors for sustainability, so Amsterdam ArenA became a showcase for energy saving, energy production and waste management. Now we’re being invited to become an innovation icon. We struck a deal with Nissan to store the energy from a football field’s worth of solar panels on our roof in a battery array built from Nissan Leaf batteries. Even our back-up energy system will be CO2 neutral; diesel generators will be phased out.

We house related start-ups, and a research department of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences is trying to develop new services based on systems of this sort. We’ve become an experimental garden for all kinds of innovation. It makes us part of the city, the future of the city.

ROB TORSING: Tonight we’ve focused almost entirely on stadiums, the traditional type of sports and leisure venue. Together with Royal HaskoningDHV and Poly-Ned we’ve developed a new type of temporary, mobile building that can house sporting events,

exhibitions, congresses or concerts. It is a self-cooling, energyneutral combination of a tent made of hi-tech material over an inflatable structure, held in a net of steel cables. It’s called The Shaded Dome and is to my mind it’s a very versatile way to create a place for large groups of people to meet. As of 2018 The Shaded Dome is a separate company, aiming to find its way in the world with this concept. The Dutch military are testing it right now. It could be ideal for peace missions in desert countries like Mali. This type of building is another way to tackle the legacy problem, since it takes only a few days to build or take down. And it’s quite big; it can contain two football pitches. We shouldn’t forget this aspect of the future of sports buildings.

LOUK DE SÉVAUX: I would like to make the point that the relationship between business and sports is changing. Sponsors want something in return, like direct access to members and customers, or association with a positive story or identity. The idea of the brand experience is dead in my opinion. People are sick and tired of the in-your-face message ‘I am fun and cool’. A brand should provide something you want to be a part of, something positive, a social experience that harbours values. Sports venues are urban institutions right in the middle of people’s lives, and people have emotional ties with clubs and the sport, so the challenge for the development and design of sport venues or stadiums is to import the identities of the surrounding environment into the building, make a home for them, connect them to events, brands and experiences people value.

In the final stages of the dinner conversation there is wide agreement on the fact that it usually takes one or two clever, persistent, charismatic and monomaniacal figures to line up all the parties, funds and energy to realise innovative big sports venues, people who are willing to ignore procedures and conventions, to achieve their goals in idiosyncratic ways.

The paradoxical conclusion seems to be that we need eccentric, mad individuals to piece together all the elements of a strategic design that makes sense in technical, economic and social terms.

It’s a thought to which everybody raises a toast.

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DAY Creative Business Partners

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COMPANY PROFILE DAY

Established 2007

DAY is a concept, brand strategy and

DAY believes innovation grows where

Number of employees 20-25

Driven by curiosity.

in silos to an integrated approach.

Headquarter Amsterdam (NL)

Office address Keizersgracht 756

1017 EZ Amsterdam The Netherlands

design agency, creating destinations.

disciplines touch eachother: from thinking

Phone +31 (0)20 771 50 77 Email amsterdam@DAY.nl Website www.DAY.nl

We define meaningful narratives and connect people to organisations, purposes, brands and environments, thus creating social experiences. By creating empathic and integrated design we make these experiences tangible, sensorial and spatial.

OUR STRATEGIC SERVICES INCLUDE:

OUR DESIGN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES INCLUDE:

The foundation Concept, strategy & positioning: Defining a distinctive market power and clear dna within an organisation, brand or project.

We believe these experiences need to manifest themselves through all channels, both digital and physical. Providing the right context for people to meet, work, live and entertain themselves, whether it’s through a new brand identity, a digital platform, a physical space or a physical destination.

Customer journey mapping Laying out the journey, including touch points, for all audiences.

Vision on space and experience Framing the concept into look & feel, physical structures, lighting, colours, materialisation, general zoning and routing plans.

With a set of well proven methodologies defined in our supermarket of products and services, we help you define an integrated approach as well as the right tools. No matter the scope of the project, we go on an exciting journey from insights and inspiration, strategy and design to the solutions that delight your customers and serve your bottom line.

We work in a wide variety of industries, ranging from real estate, consumer branding, retail, hospitality and healthcare.

All focusing on creating retail, sports, leisure, entertainment and other venues.

Concept Defining the mental and physical narrative of the organisational and/or brand experience.

Partner/stakeholder propositions Drawing and defining connections and advantages with stakeholders/partners/ sponsors.

Feasibility and business modelling (in joint venturing) Creative business modelling and testing validity.

Organisation (in joint venturing) Defining culture and resources; training all involved.

Branding Creating a name and tagline that claims a place in the market and translating this into a brand rationale with matching tone of voice and photography.

Graphic design Creating a logo and extending the visual identity for print, online and spatial purposes.

Wayfinding Making routing simple by creating signage inside and outside that is unique to the brand essence.

Interior branding Adding branded content to interiors through a graphical layer.

Interior architecture Designing physical spaces: places to be.

Retail design Creating retail concepts and design with meaning and character.

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creative business partners

A selection of our services. We tailor the process to your needs, be it a single customer journey mapping or the complete process from concept to final execution. www.DAY.nl +31 (0)20 771 5077

Brand Strategy & Positioning

Customer Journey Mapping

Defining a distinctive market power and clear dna within an organisation, brand or project.

Mapping the customer journey, defining and designing every touch point along the way.

Vision on Space & Experience

Interior Architecture & Spatial Branding

Determining and documenting the visual building blocks that will bring your concept to life.

Creating engaging experiences and relevant spaces.

QUICK SCAN

Do you want to improve your customer experience?

As a NEXT Magazine special, DAY creative business partners offers you a special quick scan including a company visit and short presentation.

Interested? Send your request to amsterdam@day.nl Have a great DAY!

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Creating destinations

What does DAY do? Imagine a meeting of developers, investors, architects and politicians discussing the first version of a masterplan for a large innovative sports and leisure venue, a stadium, or a place similar to the Ziggo Dome.

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Parking master plan of KNVB Campus

The discussion concerns capacity and land prices, parking and mobility, public transport and safety. There might be a representative present from the booking agency, who explains the logistics, lighting, sound amplification and stage rigging required by big pop acts. Or an expert who can compare big football stadiums around Europe, their seat prices and estimated food and drink consumption. Maybe the architect explains how great a new type of concrete is, one that has translucent qualities, or describes an iconic facade. And then there is a person, let’s imagine her as an energetic woman with bright eyes and an upbeat temperament, who asks the group of big shots how they think it would strike a visitor arriving at the entrance after having waited in line for a while.

How much time before the match or the concert starts? What can he or she do in the meantime? What do the people who have created the stadium or building want visitors to feel or experience, and how do they plan to get their ideas across to the actual visitors, people of flesh and blood, with five senses, individuals with active minds and imaginations and certain needs and expectations. They have phones and appointments with friends. They don’t read the masterplan or the architectural vision document; they stand there, coat in hand, possibly thirsty, excited to see their club or favourite band. What do they see, feel, hear, smell, and what are they able to do besides walk to their seats? And in what atmosphere? Do the people present know what they might want, what they like or hate?

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It is possible the group silences this woman, arguing that her questions are irrelevant at this stage, that she is prematurely concerned with dressing up the building they are yet to finish designing and constructing. In their opinion her focus is on the creative colouring-in of the grid they produce. They ask her to leave and come back at the end of the design phase.

It might also be that the group finds the wisdom to understand that a sports or leisure venue is not a factory or an office, and that its success is highly dependent on how the spectators rate or value the raison d’être for such a building: the experience of a match, a concert as something that involves their minds, their emotions, their bodies and their interactions with friends. All the cleverly designed functions and installations, the calculated capacity and costs are quite abstract phenomena, and they may still fail to result in a successful venue if visitors feel lost in a chilly, drab space with

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unfriendly lighting, and get the impression they are treated as cattle, driven in and out of the arena to end up on the street again.

A match or a concert depends on the interactions between the artist or players on the stage or pitch and the fans or audience in the stands. The building should be designed to get both parties into the best possible mood, to maximise the quality of their interaction, by providing quick and easy parking, or by being only a short walk from a train station. But mostly it’s the result of how you feel, what you see and hear and experience while inside.

When this is perceived as a core quality of a sports and leisure building, the woman who asked the down-to-earth questions will be invited to join all the stages of the design process, up to the point of the production of the communication plan and the interior design, when ceilings, wall coverings, furniture, signage and curtains need to be chosen.

When that happens, the group of developers, architects, politicians and investors have chosen to work with the woman as their creative business partner.

Not just because they want to make the building look good, but because they realise that her questions relate to architectural, technical and business decisions that can make or break the venue, and that will give it an identity. They will include her to ensure that the design of the building is conceptually, functionally and physically coherent. The abstract numbers and technical specifications, and the choice of external partners invited into the building, provide information about activities and entertainments down to the chairs in the cafÊ, the posters on the wall, the atmosphere in the members’ lounge and the website.

The woman in this little story stands for the role that the people at DAY aim to play.

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LG’s Life’s Good Zone

Ziggo Dome square exterior. Photo Jannes Linders

PUTTING IMAGINATION TO USE DAY was part of the team responsible for the design of the Ziggo Dome that opened in 2012. Their job was to give functional and physical form to the slogans behind the idea of the building.

The concert experience is the focal point, the journey of the customer constantly tied to the musical experience and to the feeling of being in good company. All well and good, but into what do these abstract intentions translate exactly? Where and how will the brands that are partners in the Ziggo Dome, like Randstad, LG, Heineken and Coca-Cola, get a chance to interact with visitors? DAY designed the environment, the bars, cloakroom, service desks, restaurants and clubs, and other touch points on the customer’s journey, where the brands offer an activity, an opportunity to get information, a place to order music, play a game, or hang out and meet.

From the moment a customer orders a ticket online, to the day after the concert when the tracks of the recorded concert arrive, DAY’s aim is to add value by working with elements of the experience people want to have while visiting a concert. The whole chain of design decisions, from the big (the theme of folding all the service areas into an abstract dark space, as if they were made from metal sheets, offering a colourful horizontal central area that entices the visitor) to the small (decorating the wall of the café

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with custom-designed posters with famous lines from lyrics Strike a pose!

We will, we will rock you. You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one etc.) are all part of an overarching theme of rhythm. The forward drive of a pulse, the exciting repetitions of a beat – those are the kinds of things that unite the atmosphere of the Ziggo Dome.

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3D Zoning plan

Sketch of design principles

Luchtbruggen

Het Entreegebouw Popzaal

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Service Desk

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Ziggo Dome square

Heineken branded bar

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Ziggo Dome in its full glory

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HUISREGELS RULES >> Jas ophangen op eigen risico. consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspe ndisse tempus magna non diam rutr um temp us. Mauris non lectu nc molestie mauris vel nulla tristi de. que tristique. Proin bibendum feue.

GARDEROBE IS GRATIS CLOAKROOM FOR F

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CASES DAY

KNVB’s rehabilitation center is highlited with the use of dynamic graphics and inspiring quotes

GIVING COLOUR AND FEELING TO STRATEGY It sounds really simple to say that if you renovate or design a concert hall or a group of sports buildings, the way the end result looks and feels should be functional in terms of the design intentions.

Atmosphere, feeling and sensory experience are exactly where things tend to go wrong, and even very functional and well-designed buildings can sometimes give off a vibe that is annoyingly indistinct or even makes us feel uncomfortable.

In that case the interior design, the signposting, the materialisation of all the design decisions have been treated as decorative, an afterthought. They have become arbitrary and bland.

A creative business partner like DAY works with developers and architects right from the early stages of the design, to make sure there is a clear, strong and immediately effective relationship between

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the function, the ideas behind the design, the strategy behind the concept, and the spatial experience, the look and feel, the practical use of the concert hall or the sports building.

One good example is a project in Zeist.

DAY was responsible for the landscape design, the interior architecture and the spatial branding of the expanded and renovated buildings of the Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The KNVB Campus project aimed to add a new congress center, to renovate existing buildings and to restyle the entire area completely.

Transforming from a rather dark and understated group of buildings in a forest into an extravert, inviting meeting place for football professionals and amateurs, young and old, as well as offering training and medical facilities in an engaging and energetic atmosphere.

CASES DAY

KNVB’s rehabilitation center

Photos Ewout Huibers

A combination of natural materials and vibrant colours, clear comprehensive signage, and photos and inspirational quotes from famous players and coaches creates an open and optimistic feel to the campus. Special attention was paid to ways of functionally and visually including the presence of the two main sponsors, ING and Nike. The colours, orange and a strong blue, assert the identity of the KNVB. DAY’s objective here was to make people feel at home in a public building and to bring inside the valued identities that live outside (in the lives of the people visiting), by visually and spatially representing and connecting them to the experience the venue offers, as well as, presenting the partner brands.

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CASES DAY

Photos Ewout Huibers

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Interior of ‘Bondsbureau’ training site

Car park for visitors

Parking master plan

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Training ground of ‘Sport Medisch Centrum’

Sketch ‘Sport Medisch Centrum’

Mood for branding and signing

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CASES DAY

You need to

translate the emotions, ideas and associations into the physical appearance of the building Photos Bart van Hoek

Custom designed doornumbers with rhythmic cut-outs

CONNECTING TO THE WORLD OUTSIDE People running multifunctional venues are all about connections, alliances and partnerships. Architects tend to treat the building they are designing or renovating as a self-contained world. They concentrate on the spatial experience, the functional coherence and the technical and practical optimum. DAY works as an intermediary between these dimensions. An example of this is a commission DAY took on for Musis, the concert hall in Arnhem, which wanted to expand and renovate while also re-positioning itself as a cultural entity in the city and the region. The strategy Musis chose was to present itself as the top podium for theatre, dance and music for all the people of the city of Arnhem, and to function as a stage and meeting place for amateur musicians and actors as well as schools and professionals that could all use the venue as a congress hall. Musis is the home base of Het Gelders Orkest

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and is traditionally an important cultural center in Arnhem and the surrounding region for lovers of classical music. DAY was instrumental in formulating Musis’ new identity. The emphasis in the new Musis lies on reaching out and inviting all citizens, businesses and institutions to come to visit, enjoy, and find ways to collaborate or do business. Musis looks and feels like the cultural living room of the city of Arnhem.

CASES DAY

A central statement piece used as a reflection of refinement and craftmanship

Bronze signage emphasising the bronze doors

DAY believes that the complex set of functions and ambitions big projects like stadiums and multifunctional entertainment venues offer can be successful only when their use and atmosphere, their functional and sensory appearance, is immediately and intuitively in line with the needs and expectations of visitors and the strategic ideas behind the building’s design. To achieve that you need to translate the emotions, ideas and associations involved in the experience people are looking for, into the physical appearance of the building. It is a direct sensory experience rather than merely an object of architectural study. And not just because it looks good but because it gives businesses the opportunity to be part of the total experience the venue offers. Ideally DAY’s contribution is not an add-on but a coherent intervention, confluent with the architectural design and the programming. DAY therefore calls itself a creative business partner, creating social experiences that add value for each stakeholder.

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INTERVIEW WILLEM DE KOK

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INTERVIEW DERK LOORBACH

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INTERVIEW PETER VAN DER VEER

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INTERVIEW JAN WILLEM LUYKEN

Becoming better at making the most of being a meeting point for people.

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INTERVIEW

WILLEM DE KOK GENERAL DIRECTOR MARTINIPLAZA, GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS

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f you asked me about the future of sports and leisure venues, like MartiniPlaza in Groningen, I would say we have to focus on becoming better at making the most of being a meeting point for people. We are situated right outside the city center and offer space for conventions and trade fairs, but we also stage musicals, concerts, exhibitions and top-class sports events.

We could develop into a place where people stay for longer, rather than just visiting a show, a match or a convention.

In collaboration with DAY creative business partners we have taken huge steps in envisioning a future strategy, and one of the main themes is establishing connections with our direct surroundings, like the park that is just two hundred metres away. We can generate lively, more urban activity in and around the venue by attracting wine bars and high-quality restaurants, or by persuading publishers, local radio and television partners plus other media and

advertising agencies to rent space in the complex. Offering shared office spaces creates a hub for mobile professionals.

To achieve such transformations you need architects, advisors like Day, as well as business partners and local authorities to engage in a long-term vision that includes answers to questions about urban development, mobility and energy. We are self-supporting now, but can we be energy producers? The sooner we get together and make clear choices the better.

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INTERVIEW

DERK LOORBACH DERK LOORBACH IS A PROFESSOR OF TRANSITIONS AND DIRECTOR OF THE DUTCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR TRANSITIONS (DRIFT) AT ERASMUS UNIVERSITY ROTTERDAM.

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he changes are huge and offer many opportunities. Just think of all the locations where stadiums, sports fields and sports halls have been built since the Second World War: outside of towns, on the outskirts, framed by motorways.

And often in a zone that had to stay empty because of air and noise pollution.

That will change. Electric cars will make the freeways much cleaner and quieter.

Self-driving cars will reduce traffic congestion, so those areas all of a sudden become very attractive and can be used much more extensively. They are spacious and have excellent connections. So that’s how we can start to think about combining sports facilities with elements like residency, work, education and sustainable energy production.

Sports provide entertainment and fun, and a commercial hotspot for consumption, but they are socially valuable too. They

have a powerfully cohesive function, especially recreational sports that bring people of all walks of life together and boost participation by socially weaker groups. Obviously sports contribute to public health. These are all valuable social effects that you could call preventive.

Just think of the role of sports in the coaching of youngsters in problematic social situations, keeping them out of trouble. That’s really valuable.

We are quite good at keeping sports clubs and their facilities afloat by means of subsidies and reduced land prices.

What we do not do is actively reward sports clubs for their cooperation with schools, homes for elderly people, hospitals or community centers. Making plans for the multifunctional sports venues of the future should include that aspect.

The government is cautiously moving in this direction in the case of sustainable energy,

by offering co-financing to businesses as well as networks and access to know-how.

These things, as well as other types of added social value, should be part of the development or re-development of a sports venue.

How do you see this multifunctional sports center succeeding? How do you draw people in and put some life into it when there’s no match or tournament?

To my mind it’s crucial to ground your master plan for development of the area with a stadium or a sports hall in the wishes, needs, interests and opportunities in the direct vicinity. The local connection to what is necessary and possible should be primary. Remember that sports venues can make an area greener, become production areas and solve water storage problems.

A stadium could produce energy for a neighbourhood. Small, local manufacturers and food businesses in particular are

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INTERVIEW

always looking for well-equipped, energysmart and interesting locations. The same goes for schools and health institutions.

A sports hall could house cultural and community activities.

Of course there should be a solid financial and economic plan, but we have to be cautious of local authorities starting to think big and losing themselves in wild investments that are supposed to produce huge profits as a result of the involvement

of a lot of retail chains and big brands. This has turned out to be very risky, and when it goes wrong you once again end up with dreary parking lots, boarded up malls and rowdy youngsters hanging around fastfood restaurants. So much for the social value of a sports venue.

So, to get some life into an environment, you have to make sure people start to see it as their own. Give space to local businesses, clubs and schools. And above

all make sure your financial plan is not dominated by real estate and multinational companies. Go for a solid balance between the social values connected with sports, the ecological functions of a sustainable location and the economic structure of the plan. What really helps in that respect is to look for tie-ins with developments in ecology and sustainable energy, and social innovations around education and health care.

How does the role of sports and sports venues change in the face of transitions in society like digitisation, the energy transition or decentralisation?

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ROTTERDAM AHOY

Flexible venue Rotterdam Ahoy

Rotterdam Ahoy was built in 1971 as an indoor cycling and skating arena. About 20% of the time the building was used for concerts, fairs or promotional events.

That 80-20% ratio reversed over the years, requiring an expansion and renovation of the building for the twenty-first century. ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects was responsible for the design for modernisation of Rotterdam Ahoy, intended to turn it into a flexible venue that could accommodate more than 15,000 people, instead of the previous 10,000.

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Photo Charles Batenburg

Photo B2S

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Photos Rotterdam Ahoy

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ROTTERDAM AHOY

Photo North Sea Jazz

The original Rotterdam Ahoy did not have a very welcoming atmosphere. It was a no-nonsense sports building. The most pressing need was to improve its quality as a place to spend time before, during and after concerts, events or matches.

Together with interior design architects Merkx+Girod, ZJA expanded an area around a new entrance, which gave new functions to existing spaces and created more storage room for technical purposes.

On the ground level as well as on the first floor, new bars, shops, restrooms and cloakrooms provided meeting places.

The new gallery connecting the existing stands introduced a more attractive and intimate atmosphere into the building.

Rotterdam Ahoy is no longer a purely functional space but a host that offers a pleasant environment for a day or a night out. To meet the demands of international pop acts, the technical characteristics of

the building were upgraded. The roof was renewed to allow greater clearance and to increase the load capacity of the roof trusses. The challenge was to increase visitor capacity but minimize the expansion.

ZJA opted for a compact design that leaves the building volume intact as much as possible, by combining a concrete structure with the existing stands. While only about 3,500 m2 were added, its capacity rose by 30%.

The dark colour of the ceiling and the visible parts of the installation system provides a neutral backdrop, on top of which the lighting can create different atmospheres. A metal gauze is attached to the outer parts of the stand that can produce a ‘starry sky’ effect when lights shine through it. In combination with the pattern on the floor it offers a subtle signposting system. To stand out, bars and outlets have an intense colour.

Rotterdam Ahoy can now house 15,000 people and offer them all an exciting experience and hospitality. Whenever a capacity of 3,000 is required, the arena can be quickly reconfigured as a more intimate stadium. The podium can be situated at the back or in a central position.

The new and higher roof has made the floor accessible to trucks and capable of dealing with larger weights.

The outside of Rotterdam Ahoy was changed as well. The entrance now brings the inside outside, catching the attention of passers-by and inviting them in. The facade features a big LED screen that shows part of the programme inside and inspires people to come in, take a look, and perhaps stay and experience what Rotterdam Ahoy has to offer.

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INTERVIEW

PETER VAN DER VEER CEO ROTTERDAM AHOY

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combination of ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects and Merkx+Girod.

We made an enormous leap forward in 2011 by expanding our capacity and in fact completing the concept of an integrated sports and entertainment building that was introduced in 1971 but not fully realised in the years that followed.

The expansion with the reconfigured arena and stands, the connecting corridor and the foyers turned Rotterdam Ahoy into a pleasant place to be. It was a renovation of outstanding quality because of the

The future is no less exciting. The City of Rotterdam, together with business partners, is investing hundreds of millions of euros in a new city center in Zuid, on the south side of the river. For this ‘Heart of South’ the city envisioned a convention center of an international standard.

We wanted to expand. The great thing is that we managed to fuse these two ambitions into a state-of-the-art congress hall with a 2,750 seating capacity and thirty-five break-out rooms, with restaurants, which can be turned into a concert venue for 7,000 because all the chairs are mobile. The flexible combination of business and entertainment of this magnitude and this level of quality is unique. And we are part of the great project to vitalise the south of the city economically, socially and culturally.

irst of all I would like to say I am always quite annoyed when people call Rotterdam Ahoy a multifunctional venue.

It sounds so bland, so colourless. I prefer words like versatile or multifaceted. My favourite image is that of a chameleon changing colour according to the situation.

Rotterdam Ahoy does that in a literal sense.

When the music festival Heeren van Amstel is scheduled, Rotterdam Ahoy turns bright red, inside and out.

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The future is no less exciting.

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I expect the new building to be another step up.

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INTERVIEW

JAN WILLEM LUYKEN DIRECTOR NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL

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or us at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam Ahoy is an ideal location. The 75,000 visitors we host for this one weekend a year attend concerts on fourteen podiums ranging from 200 to 13,000 seats. They can all wander about freely. That is quite a complicated concept and it takes all of Rotterdam Ahoy to make it work. All these people move around and need to eat and drink. The artists have to come and go quickly and safely. So as an organiser I appreciate a building that is intelligently designed with the necessary diversity and flexibility in mind.

In the future I see first of all the growing popularity of music festivals. It is the kind of entertainment that is immersive and festive and offers high-quality acts under optimal conditions. The demand for higher quality

is a trend in all fields. People are demanding higher sound quality, better food, more exclusive drinks, less waiting time, better seats, better internet access, better toilets and so on. Comfort is the key word.

I am looking forward to the new developments in and around Rotterdam Ahoy. The new building is part of a masterplan to upgrade that area of Rotterdam. It’s great to be a part of that with a new venue that’s more integrated into the urban grid, more accessible by public transport with better parking and so on. I expect the new building to be another step up.

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What is happening ?

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Nike Unlimited Stadium

What is happening ?

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Miele Powerwash at Lowlands festival 2017

1. PHYGITAL The digital and the physical fuse in phygital installations. Technology made tangible, sensory, personal and intuitive in order to create a new experience.

Nike’s Unlimited Stadium offers a phygital running rack.

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Livelike watch live sports in VR with your friends

2. PHYSICAL MARKETING People prefer brands that offer more than an image: human interaction, a community, meaning and values. How to build a physical experience around the interaction with a brand? At the Lowlands festival Miele Power Wash offered a useful, fun and physical experience to get to know the washing machine brand.

iOmniscient - leading supplier of face recognition in a crowd

3. A VIRTUAL STADIUM In the future immersive virtual technology will improve even further. Stadiums have to be prepared to be wired for virtual spectators, taking in match, concert and atmosphere through VR products such as Hololens and Magic Leap. Design and customer data become part of the physical venue.

4. FACIAL RECOGNITION Crowd control in stadiums will include facial recognition. This can lead to superb service: We know you have arrived. Your favorite drink is ready. We can offer you a jersey in your size and tickets for future dates.

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From sponsoring to partnering

A destination is never a single brand experience; it is what we call a social experience, and as such a platform brands and other stakeholders can contribute to. A social experience is driven by a purpose, a set of goals in a context that is relevant for all stakeholders involved.

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SPONSORING PARTNERING

THE ROLE OF BRANDS Brands play an important role in destinations. They can add value to many different aspects of venues. This varies from long term brand based sponsorships, strategic partnerships or event based activations. Long term-based sponsorship may include naming rights. Ziggo Dome is an example, just like AFAS Live and Car Jeans Stadium, home of ADO Den Haag or Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Mßnchen. Strategic partnerships include services that are required to run the venue. An example is technology or food & beverages. Event based activations are limited to series of events or single events. For example the presence of beer brands in stadiums depending on the event. Key is to create the perfect balance between the visitor experience, the brand’s interest and the venue. The ideal starting point for this experience is the customer journey. By mapping out the entire process the right touchpoints can be defined. These touchpoints can be linked to all stakeholders in the process.

We identify the following steps in the journey from orientation to follow up: orientation and booking, travel to the venue, arrival (find the venue, meet up, find your seat), get a drink and food, the event itself, the afterparty (extended stay), travelling home and the day after (sharing the experience).

Following this, brands can choose to contribute to (or adopt) specific steps of this journey. The touchpoints can be related to specific domains, which can then be adopted by brands.

An example is beer; often venues deal with one brand only.

The ultimate goal, to provide the best possible experience, needs to be kept in mind. Therefore no logos only, but meaningful physical touchpoints where the audience meets the brands.

ones that make any event happen), partners (creating the right environment to reach their target audiences), tenants/users (the ones that book or use the venue), shareholders (owners of the venue) and stakeholders (such as local authorities).

For brands focus is primarily on the first target audience. Key for any venue is to help them reach the hearts and minds of their audience. A physical representation is necessary, next to possible digital channels. The event itself is key. Branded touchpoints all need to enrich the experience in specific parts or throughout the entire customer journey.

An example is the presence of ING on the KNVB Campus.

Being one of the key sponsors of KNVB their branded presence on the KNVB Campus was required. In line with the partnering model DAY created ING facilitated all seating arrangements around the main pitch as well as a tribune in the training center. These touchpoints combine subtle branding with adding value to the experience: small news and story telling items are placed in and around the seating facilities.

Since many venues use temporary workforce, focus on employee branding is relevant. This rarely happens: more often than not facilities for the service crew are limited. Ziggo Dome is an example how it can be done differently. Randstad is the strategic partner for all labour in the Ziggo Dome. In order to keep the crew close to the mission of the Ziggo Dome it is essential to reduce staff turn over. This stimulates continuity in service and brand representation. It also saves on cost, since training cost and clothing cost are reduced.

TARGET AUDIENCES At this point it is important to identify the different target audiences; visitors of events (attending a match or a concert), employees (the

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NIKE football cage at KNVB Campus

In the case of Ziggo Dome, DAY turned the employee related touchpoints into branded environments. Starting point was to turn the employees into the stars of the evening. The changing rooms look like changing rooms from performing stars, branded in Randstad identity. The training room doubles as an afterparty lounge. Thus they are reflecting the Randstad identity on the one hand and supporting the strategic goals of Ziggo Dome on the other hand.

FROM SPONSORSHIP TO PARTNERSHIP Partnership is the driver for success in the process. Gone are the days where brands donate funds for image driven goals only.

As a recent Nielsen study shows business driven goals are gaining ground. These include labour marketing, recruitment, sales and relationship management. Brands consider the emotional value of their sponsor target of strategic importance. This is the number one criteria for selection of this target.

CONCLUSION It is clear venues and brands have a lot to offer to each other.

Venues offer a relevant context for brands to relate to their target audiences on an emotional level. Physical representation of these brands in venues helps visitors to identify with them, provided these representations are relevant and add value to the overall

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ING’s stairs of progress at KNVB Campus

visitor experience. Other stakeholders should play a role in the process as well, as illustrated in the example of Randstad.

By creating a social experience, the right stage is there for venues and brands to connect to visitors, each other and all other stakeholders.

SPONSORING PARTNERING

Multifunctional changing rooms branded by Randstad in Ziggo Dome

Podium stairs branded by ING at KNVB Campus

Photos Ewout Huibers

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Get in touch!

DAY creative business partners Keizersgracht 756 1017 EZ Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone +31 (0)20 771 5077 Email amsterdam@DAY.nl Website www.DAY.nl

ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects Pedro de Medinalaan 7 1086 XK Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone +31 (0)20 535 2200 Email info@ZJA.nl Website www.ZJA.nl

DAY creative business partners Keizersgracht 756 1017 EZ Amsterdam The Netherlands

ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects Pedro de Medinalaan 7 1086 XK Amsterdam The Netherlands

Phone +31 (0)20 771 5077 Email amsterdam@DAY.nl Website www.DAY.nl

Phone +31 (0)20 535 2200 Email info@ZJA.nl Website www.ZJA.nl