the stadium carved from the quarry, and the Pritzker that followed
The Estádio Municipal de Braga, known as A Pedreira, was built between 2000 and 2003 to host Euro 2004, with the inauguration on 30 December 2003. The project is by architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, in collaboration with engineer Rui Furtado, and was the most internationally recognised of the five stadiums built in Portugal for the championship. The work was central to the Pritzker Prize that Souto de Moura received in 2011, and also won the Secil 2004 (Architecture) and 2005 (Civil Engineering) prizes, as well as the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award in 2006.
The guiding idea is integration with the landscape. The stadium is literally carved into the north slope of Monte Castro, in a former granite quarry. Instead of filling in the valley next to the river (the originally planned site), Souto de Moura proposed moving the project to the quarry, using the change in level and making the rock an integral part of the architecture. The result: two facing stands, and nothing else. At one end the pitch runs up against a 40-metre carved granite wall, in a clean and visible cut. At the other end, the view opens out to the city and the valley, with no built backdrop. There are no stands behind the goals. It's a radical decision for a stadium.
The roof is the other piece that justifies the trip. The two lateral stands are connected by dozens of steel cables tensioned from one to the other, suspended above the pitch, supporting two large roof panels on each side. The inspiration is declared: the Inca bridges of Peru, with plant-fibre cables linking riverbanks across deep valleys. The metal system was adopted during construction (the original project called for a continuous concrete slab, like Siza's Portugal Pavilion at Expo 98), and the final solution gives the whole a lightness that solid concrete would not have. When you see the stadium in a photograph, this is what you recognise.
To visit even without a match, SC Braga runs guided tours (Stadium Tour) with several daily sessions, the first usually at 10am. The route takes in the changing rooms, access tunnel, pitch, press room, and club museum, with commentary on the architecture and history. For groups, booking at least 48 hours in advance is wise. The stadium is about two kilometres from the centre of Braga (half an hour on foot, frequent public transport), and parking nearby is limited. For anyone interested in contemporary Portuguese architecture, it's a stop worth making, with or without a match in the calendar.
the whole scene
- designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura, central to the Pritzker he received in 2011
- stadium carved from a disused granite quarry on the north slope of Monte Castro
- two facing stands; the ends are a rock wall and a view of the city
- roof suspended by steel cables, inspired by Peruvian Inca bridges
- guided tours available, with several daily sessions and the club museum
