A Flexible Extension To Amsterdam’s Olympic Stadium?

Amsterdam’s Department of City Planning has presented a plan for possible physical extensions to the city’s Olympic Stadium. Architecture agencies Na-ma and Tom Bergevoet were the lucky ones to explore the extension possibilities.

They created six scenarios in which the stadium’s capacity can be temporarily brought up to 47,000 spectators. This preliminary research is part of the exhibition named NL28 in Rotterdam, which helps visitors to imagine that the Netherlands are organising the Olympic Games in 2028, a century after the games in Amsterdam. The central question is: in case the Netherlands would be organising the Games, what would that mean for the existing area of our country?

Re-use and temporary were the main themes of the study. “We respect this ancient monument. The temporary extension will leave the building intact as much as possible. Besides that, it’s possible to re-use the flexible extension elements at another location, for another event”, the researchers said. Central thought is to extend the Olympic Stadium only in times when it’s needed. The building is an official monument which cannot be rebuilt. So-called extension units will be used to bring up the stadium’s capacity. Every unit contains 1,500 seats and is easy to disassemble. The elements will not affect the monumental nature of the stadium. However, authorities have to emphasise that the whole thing is just a study. No single decision is made yet.