Fiorentina's new stadium

Yesterday the winning project of the international competition for the restyling of the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence was unveiled. The winner is the Arup studio, with the restyling project signed by architect David Hirsch, which will improve and deliver to the city a modern structure by 2026. The redevelopment project for the stadium built by Pier Luigi Nervi in 1931 focuses on the new roof, a thin rectangular metal blade designed to minimise the visual impact on the skyline and enhance the horizontal nature of the stadium, interrupting at the iconic elements such as the Marathon Tower and the historic canopy. The rectangular roof will cover the entire perimeter of the old structure, protecting the old bleachers from rain and tapering inwards to the edge of the pitch. The idea behind the project is to complete the Artemio Franchi Stadium redevelopment project with a living and efficient urban system, capable of renewing the very image of the city by creating a public space for the community, but above all a sustainable one that is frequented seven days a week.

The new Artemio Franchi will be able to accommodate up to 40,000 people, in order to give the Italian federation another modern and up-to-date stadium without an athletics track in view of the possible candidature for the 2028 or 2032 European Championships. The new Franchi will be financed with money from the Recovery Fund and a part from the Municipality, which is taking care of the bureaucratic part in order to start the work by the beginning of 2023. Compared to the project proposed by Commisso a few years ago, the new stadium will maintain its original structure, which is considered a historical asset, and for this reason it will have to maintain the Marathon tower, the stands and the spiral stairs, while new curves will be created in front of the existing ones, an auditorium behind the Fiesole and a hotel around the Franchi. An ambitious project that would give the city of Florence a modern and sustainable stadium, capable of remaining functional at all times, not only on match days, and surrounded by the redeveloped Campo Marte, which will become increasingly green.