Qatar 2022 World Cup Stadiums Are Engineering Feats

The Qatar 2022 World Cup is possibly the last time Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will play for their respective countries. And what a place to have their swan song. Although it is possibly the last tournament for these legends, it has many firsts for the FIFA World Cup. Qatar is the first Arab nation to host the tournament, the first time a stadium has been built to take it down afterward, a player tracking app and it's all happening during winter. Eight stadiums, either completely new or refurbished from previous stadiums, hold various innovative ideas. This is Iconic Builds and today we are looking at some of the Qatar 2022 World Cup stadiums. The Shopee Stadium is known as Lusail Iconic Stadium and is where the final will be held. With a capacity of 80,000 people, it is the biggest stadium in Qatar. And like all the stadiums, it features new technology to keep fans cool in the Qatari heat. The mastermind behind this cooling technology is Dr. Saud Ghani, professor of mechanical engineering at Qatar University. Dr. Ghani wanted to create a microclimate bubble within the stadiums, but the hardest part was to keep the outside warm air entering open air stadiums. Dr. Ghani and his team first created 3D models of the stadiums, which were placed in a wind tunnel with smoke representing wind. The data was processed by computational fluid dynamics software to determine what the temperature would be at each level. The team concluded that blowing cool air on the players via football-sized nozzles parallel to the pitch and smaller air diffusers under each spectator seat pushing cold air out at ankle level could mimic a natural cold flow. The circulation of the air means that the air is drawn back and recooled before cooling the stadium again, keeping those eco-friendly warriors at bay. Even if the final comes down to a penalty shootout, you'll not be a sweating mess thanks to this tech. The next stadium is another first. It's almost like this tournament was trying to be the first at everything. Well, Stadium 974 was designed and built with the intention of removal after the sporting event. This radical idea is from Fenwick Yerevan architects in association with Schlaich-Bergerman partners and Hilson Moran. This 40,000 seat waterfront stadium is constructed from a steel frame and shipping containers are used as one of the main building blocks. Everything in this stadium from grandstands, stalls and sanitary fittings can be easily transported as certified shipping containers. These containers can be reassembled on another site or converted into multiple smaller sites once the tournament is finished. It may be the first stadium designed to be broken down, but it surely won't be the last. Built in one of Qatar's oldest lived-in areas, the Al Janoub Stadium was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zahna Hadid and it reflects the wind-filled sails of Qatar's traditional dhow boats. It boasts a capacity of 40,000 and is expected to reduce in half to 20,000 once the World Cup is over. This idea is shared between the other stadiums where their capacity will be lowered and the seats will be donated to various projects throughout the world. No matter which stadium you're in, VAR is back whether you love it or loathe it. There are 12 tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of each stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player keeping track of their exact position on the pitch. Even the footballs are getting a much-needed upgrade. The official match balls for Qatar 2022 will have an inertial measurement unit sensor placed inside. This sensor will send ball data 500 times per second, making a precise decision easier. And how will you get around all these stadiums? By metro. But this metro is unlike what you have ever seen before. You can use the fantastic metro system, which features driverless trains that can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, 100 kilometers per hour. Qatar 2022 is building up to be an example of how other World Cups should be organized. Comment which stadium is your favorite, if you are attending the World Cup, and which team you're supporting.