2016_01_08_ARQ_san_mames

We spoke with its main architect, César Azcárate, from the Bilbao firm ACXT-Idom, and professor at the University of Navarra. School of Architecture University of Navarra:

- What has this recognition meant?
- Well, it's really a great joy. The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is a very important recognition, as it is attended by countless projects and works from most countries in the world. It is also a source of great satisfaction since San Mames had already received international recognition at the level of soccer stadiums, but this category goes even further, since it has been chosen as the best sports building in the world.

- How did the idea come to you?
- It is not easy to build a soccer stadium. It is a topic of great social relevance, of relevant urban impact and of complicated general management . plenary session of the Executive Council In the case of the new San Mamés, the social and city decision to build it in the space available next to the old stadium added a special difficulty to the process: the old San Mamés had to be kept in operation while the new one was being built in two phases. All this meant that the Club originally asked us to help them organize all this. We went further and presented an initial proposal that solved the problems and proposed a building that all the agents involved liked. From there we started to work on the project, a long process as there were many factors to be taken into account, even more so at the beginning of the global crisis that we have suffered in recent years.

- In this process, there were many questions, but two fundamental ones were asked in this order: what do we want it to be, and what do we want it to be, how am I going to do it, what shape is it going to have? What is the answer that César Azcárate gave to the first question, and how did he initially dream of this new stadium?
- The old San Mamés has been known as the "Cathedral" of soccer. It was a reference letter stadium because of its soccer atmosphere, a very English stadium, football-wise. Let's not forget the link between England and Bilbao through industry since the 19th century. Soccer has changed a lot in recent times, but in Bilbao the atmosphere, the members and fans live Athletic in a very special way. The new stadium had to respond to both things: firstly, it had to maintain the essence of a mythical stadium, a very special soccer atmosphere; secondly, it had to be a modern stadium according to the new times. Finally, it had to be a new architectural reference letter in the city of Bilbao, a city that has had a modest urban regeneration in recent years after the great industrial crisis of the 80s, full of great architectural examples.

- From that dream to reality, what has changed? I am sure that there have been modifications from the preliminary project to the final result .
- The main ideas that I mentioned before have not changed, they have been there from the first moment until its completion. However, many other less important things have changed. As I mentioned earlier, the whole process of project and work has been carried out from 2007 until now, in the midst of the economic crisis. This has been, contrary to what one might imagine, very positive for project. Working with tight budgets means that you have to be more attentive to optimal solutions, to really value what is important and to sharpen your wits to the maximum. When we internally evaluate the initial and final designs, we are certainly much more satisfied with the final result . We have rationalized the structure, optimized surfaces and imagined simple and rational construction solutions. At final, which should always be an architectural project .

- Moving on to the how, the process, how did you begin to conceive the new stadium?
- Logically, we started by visiting the most recently built European stadiums, which were the ones built for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. We were also interested in the most important English stadiums and in the latest developments in the world. Then we fitted in the most complicated part, which was the management of the work, keeping the old one operational while the new one was being built. Finally, the ideas were captured in plans, models and three-dimensional programs of study to give architectural and constructive solutions. A built stadium seems simple, but it has a really complex geometry, the work in BIM technology is essential from the first moment.

- A delicate work , since La Catedral has a long history behind it: a lot of feelings, a great attachment of the fans... How did you manage these elements?
- This is one of the most difficult parts. It is not easy to transfer the feelings of a century-old stadium, built in parts throughout the Club's history, to an entirely new one. But if there is one thing we are satisfied with, it is that it is still called San Mames and is still nicknamed "the Cathedral". For us this is a symptom that the new stadium has been very well received not only by the members but also by the international sporting and architectural world, backed up by this last great recognition by the WAF. It is already a stadium of reference letter worldwide, visited by countless clubs and institutions.

- We cannot ignore the criticism of some fans who say that when it rains, they get wet.
- In my opinion, this is an absurd polemic and outside the architectural scope. The new San Mames is an open stadium, and therefore it rains, as in all open stadiums in the world.

- A new emblem that puts Bilbao back on the continental architectural map.
- Yes, as we have mentioned before, Bilbao is an example of urban regeneration and transformation that has been studied in urban forums around the world. We hope that the new San Mamés will contribute with its presence to improve the regeneration of the city.