FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.09.2007 19:54

Norman Foster will restructure the Camp Nou

David Saura

Prestigious Norman Foster + Partners studio of architecture will take responsibility for the restructuring of the Camp Nou, following an announcement made today by Joan Franquesa, the director in charge of capital resources.

After an “open, participative, democratic and international” process, director Joan Franquesa has informed the Board of Directors that architect Norman Foster has been selected to remodel the Camp Nou. This decision was taken after the Jury (made up of members of the Council, the College of Architects, FC Barcelona and experts in the field) made its final decision regarding the proposals offered for tender by Carles Ferrater and Norman Foster.

Director Joan Franquesa outlined some of the requisites that were evaluated in reaching their final decision, such as the work not affecting sports events, having as little effect on the membership as possible, maintaining the characteristic asymmetry of the Camp Nou (between the lateral area and the Grandstand) and transforming the stadium into “an iconic element of the city.”

Wembley: a functional but not aesthetic reference

The director responsible for the club’s capital resources explained that Norman Foster will contribute "great knowledge of major infrastructures and large sports facilities”, as revealed by the way he was the author of the new Wembley. But Franquesa wished to make it clear that the Camp Nou project would in no way be an imitation of the London stadium. "Barça is the reference” he said. “We have a specific singularity. The proposal will not be similar to Wembley in terms of aesthetics, but will reflect its modernity and functionality."

10,000 new seats

Although the new stadium will respect the structure of the Camp Nou as it has been since 1957 (with first and second tier terraces), the outside will be different, claimed Franquesa, who is convinced that the project “transmits passion” and will “make the members proud.” In terms of capacity, this is expected to increase by 10,000, for various uses, even though increasing the seating area was not one of the main objectives. The most important thing was to design a modern and comfortable stadium."

Joan Franquesa said that they now had to work on a definitive project, which will be revealed within a period of about 12 months. The corresponding licence will be requested from the Council in the latter half of 2008, and "the administration have expressed their interest in reorganising the area around the Camp Nou", which includes the local district of Les Corts.

Expected cost: 250 million euros

The added value capital resources generated by the Camp Nou and its facilities will be used to finance the project, for which Joan Franquesa offered a ballpark figure of 250 million euros, while pointing out that "we cannot reveal the real cost until we have received the definitive project."