DaeGu World Cup Stadium
DaeGu, Korea
IIIA (Idea Image Institute of Architects)

City enters the world stage with an iconic new stadium

© IIIA

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Hosting a World Cup soccer match can catapult a city onto the international stage. DaeGu, South Korea, hoped for such a result when it bagged the right to host a few matches of the 2002 championship. For the occasion, the city built a new stadium and inaugurated direct flight service to Osaka, Japan—both of which would continue serving the city afterwards as a means of encouraging broader development.

Stadiums are not economical propositions. These large-scale creations are expensive to build and to maintain so they cannot simply be empty containers. Thus, in working on this project, the Idea Image Institute of Architects (IIIA) kept several watchwords in mind: multi-purpose flexibility, functionality, convenience, security, economy, creativity, and symbolism.

Concrete and steel form the stadium’s superstructure, while aluminum panels and granite clad its façades. The roof, which covers roughly three-quarters of the seating sections, is comprised of PTFE: a composite fiberglass fabric stretched across steel framing. Divided into two sail-like sections that swell and billow like waves above the stands, the stadium’s roof satisfies IIIA’s desire to create a symbol on the skyline.

With seating for 66,000 people, and a total possible capacity of 70,000 people, the DaeGu Stadium is the largest stadium in Korea and, among Asian stadiums, second only to Japan’s Yokohama International Stadium. Since the 2002 World Cup, the building has hosted the Universiade, a competition for Korea’s collegiate athletes, and other sports competitions—proving that it is not just a soccer stadium.

Formal name of Project:
DaeGu World Cup Stadium

Location:
DaeGu, Korea

Gross square footage:
1,544,544 sq. ft.

Total project cost:
$185 million

Client:
DaeGu Metropolitan City

Architect:
IIIA (Idea Image Institute of Architects)
4th Fl., Changjeon-Dong, Mapo-Gu,
121-880, Seoul, Korea
82-2-325-9872 tel.
82-2-325-5692 fax
www.ideaimage.com