Award-winning architecture firm Scau unveiled their design for the Great Stadium of Casablanca. A sports facility that will serve as the home to the Morocco national football team. Designed in collaboration with local firm Archidesign, the project features massive fanned-out concrete fibre blades around its perimeter, filtering natural light and promoting cross ventilation throughout the interior. With a capacity to hold up to 80,000 spectators, the projected completion date is set for 2013.

Located on a 100 hectare quarry site, the form and composition of the circular stadium suggests an excavated mineral. The scale-like openwork structure manages the microclimate of the interior, creating subtle shade through its islamic art-influenced latticework. Direct sunlight is eliminated through careful orientation of the blades. In the interstitial space between the stadium itself and the open ‘envelope’ is a garden, serving both as a thermal buffer and an interior oasis for the visitors.