ZURICH // After all the talk of using state-of-the-art air conditioning to cool stadiums at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the architect in charge of one of the venues claimed yesterday that a more old-fashioned solution would be cheaper and better.
Leading firm Populous, which is designing the Sports City stadium in Doha, is trying to persuade Qatari organisers to scrap plans to have air conditioning at the venue.
John Barrow, the Populous director, said the system is too expensive and "notoriously unsustainable" for the environment when used on a large scale.
"I think you can be more clever. It is about air movement, moisture in the air and it is about temperature at the right time of day," Barrow told delegates at the International Football Arena conference. "If we get it right ... that is the way ahead."
Air-conditioned stadiums to beat 50°C desert heat in June were a defining theme of Qatar's winning bid last year.
Qatar hired Populous to help its campaign, drawing on the firm's experience in building signature projects such as the new Yankee Stadium, London's 2012 Olympic Stadium and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
The firm built a small prototype of an air-conditioned stadium in Doha to help persuade a Fifa inspection team that the tiny nation's ambitious World Cup project could succeed.
However, Barrow now believes the planned Sports City arena can be kept cool by shading seats and using traditional Arabic methods for ventilation.
"We are doing away with all the air conditioning kit that is going to cost a fortune to run," Barrow said.
Instead, he is proposing wind towers that suck up hot air to create fan-like air movement inside the 47,000-capacity stadium. "It is part of the building tradition in the Gulf to create wind towers which naturally ventilate. If you have got an air movement which keeps you cool like a fan that makes all the difference."
Qatar promised Fifa that its 12 World Cup stadiums could be regulated at around 26°C.
Now, Barrow says spectators could be kept comfortable at 30°C during evening matches.
"It doesn't need to be 26 degrees. Fan expectation needs to be a little more relaxed," he said on the conference sidelines.
Seating areas also need to be kept in shade during searing daytime temperatures, instead of allowing stadiums to "suck in" heat that is retained after dark.
"Suddenly you are sitting on a radiator. It is totally counter productive," Barrow said.
"The objective for me is to keep the [stadium] bowl sun-screened during the day, with natural ventilation and also encouraging a vortex by using all kinds of clever tricks."
* Associated Press
@ For more on WORLD CUP 2022, visit thenational.ae/topics
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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