Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have been appointed to design a new stadium for National Football League (NFL) team The Washington Redskins, according to several US news sources.
The
Washington Post has reported that the team’s owner Dan Snyder wants to relocate the franchise from its current 82,000-capacity ground at FedEx Field in the state of Maryland – which it has occupied since 1997 – and build a new stadium elsewhere in the region.
The newspaper said negotiations are continuing to determine a final location, with officials in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia tabling site proposals. According to reports, the team may have to change its controversial name and logo – considered by some to be offensive to Native American groups – before any move will get the green light.
Speculation around the potential BIG appointment has mounted since studio founder Bjarke Ingels published a photograph of M&M chocolates branded with the team’s colours and logo
on his Instagram account. However, a spokesperson from BIG refused to be drawn on the reports, telling
CLAD they are just “speculation” at this stage.
The practice, who have won a reputation for
creating innovative, convention-defying buildings, have not designed a completed sports arena but
are one of 14 candidates to work on the €600m (US$670m, £436m) redevelopment of Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium. If the project is confirmed, BIG will be following in the footsteps of other big name architects who have designed sports facilities – such as Zaha Hadid, who has created
a World Cup football stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar and Herzog & de Meuron, designers of the Beijing National Stadium and the
proposed new Stamford Bridge ground for Chelsea FC.BIG have experience working on projects in Washington D.C, having designed the masterplan for a
US$2bn (€1.8bn, £1.4bn) re-imagining of the city's Smithsonian Institution.
