{"id":48907,"date":"2023-05-17T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T07:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/?p=48907"},"modified":"2025-12-11T09:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T08:57:35","slug":"from-a-granite-quarry-to-a-soccer-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/en\/2023\/05\/from-a-granite-quarry-to-a-soccer-stadium\/","title":{"rendered":"From a granite quarry to a soccer stadium: how buildings are integrated into their surroundings"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 4, 2004, with more than 62,000 spectators crowding the Est\u00e1dio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal and Greece played <\/span>the final of the European Football Championship<\/b>. It was the first time that both countries were competing for the European throne, which eventually went to the Greeks. Portugal, the host, didn’t leave empty-handed: it took home a historic silver medal, as well as the creation of one of the most unique, original stadiums in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

While millions of people were awaiting the final at the Est\u00e1dio da Luz, many more had turned their attention to another Eurocup venue, <\/span>the Municipal Stadium of Braga<\/b>. This building was designed for the event by Portuguese architect Eduardo Soto de Moura; it was built using the shape an old abandoned granite quarry had left in the landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

This stadium, with a capacity of over 30,000, is one example of how architecture and construction can be tailored to their surroundings and <\/span>integrated into nature<\/b> – as well as how they can unite the past and present to bring new life to a forgotten area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Granite bleachers, beams, and walls<\/span><\/h2>\n

When Eduardo Soto de Moura was chosen to design the Municipal Stadium of Braga, one of his first ideas was to change the project’s location. At first, the work was going to take place on a plot of land by the river, but he set his sights <\/span>a little higher<\/b>, on the slopes of Mount Castro. There, an old granite quarry had left a deep scar in the landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

This location allowed the architect to uphold some of the definitive premises of his style and work: <\/span>integrating the project into the environment<\/b>, uniting the structure with what was already there, and combining granite with other materials like concrete and steel. In addition, situating a European Championship venue on this hill would foreground a forgotten area of Braga.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The shape of the terrain would also allow for using the excavated slope to integrate the structure of the building. The result is a stadium with <\/span>two bleachers facing one another<\/b>: one sits on the hill, and the other stands on a structure of 16 concrete blocks. Dozens of steel cables hang between them, akin to the suspension bridges that the Incas built in Latin America.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n