Xi'an International Football Center reimagines stadium as porous civic platform

In Xi'an, China, architects Yuanbo Jia and Zhijun Lei have created the Xi'an International Football Center, envisioned as a public infrastructure that seamlessly blends with urban life outside of game days. To diminish the stadium's imposing presence, the lower seating tier is partly buried underground, and commercial areas are positioned beneath a continuous canopy around the structure. A semi-enclosed plaza promotes everyday use and hosts small events, ensuring ongoing activity. On match days, the ground-level interface fosters sound and visual links to the city, transforming the plaza into a fan zone. The facade features a mix of horizontal and vertical elements to reduce mass, while the interior design prioritizes a lighter architectural feel, facilitating indirect engagement with events through commercial spaces that offer partial views inside.