The San Siro stadium is home to both AC Milan and FC Internazionale (Inter Milan). It was originally built in 1926 by architect Ulisse Stacchini, who also designed Milan’s grand Centrale railway terminus.

It was extensively remodelled for the 1990 World Cup by architects Ragazzi and Partners and now has a capacity of 80,000.

“It’s probably the most well-known place in Milan,” says Novembre. “It’s like a pagan dome, a pagan temple. Definitely stadiums are the new domes, the new piazzas. People meet in stadiums.”

Novembre goes on to explain that AC Milan is much more than just a soccer club: “After Ferrari, the most famous Italian brand in the world is AC Milan," he says. "It is a very special soccer team because it’s got the city in its name. So it carries with it a lot of responsibility.”

Above: image of Mario Balottelli courtesy of the Press Association

He believes that work needs to be done to make the stadium more family-friendly. "What we want to try to achieve is to take families into stadiums again. I mean not any more crazy supporters like hooligans but to give back the most important sport in the world to the best people – to children and families."

Novembre also thinks the club, which features the black striker Mario Balotelli and Muslim goalscorer Stephan El Shaarawy among its star players, can help forge a new identity for the whole country.

Above: image of Stephan El Shaarawy courtesy of the Press Association

“Think about Mario Balotelli [who was born to Ghanaian parents in Sicily but later fostered by an Italian family]. Or Stephan El Shaarawy, the child of Egyptian parents, but he was born in Milano, he speaks the Milanese dialect. That’s a new Italy that we’re trying to imagine, to represent this country.”

We drove out to the stadium in our MINI Cooper S Paceman. Last week we published a tour of Milan with Novembre, who talked about the importance of the annual furniture fair to the city.

The music featured is a track called Where are Your People? by We Have Band, a UK-based electronic act who played at the MINI Paceman Garage in Milan. You can listen to more music by the band on Dezeen Music Project.

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A blanket of bright green turf stretches along the length of the building, creating a pair of pitches beneath the arched metal trusses that support the roof.

At the end of these pitches, the architects have inserted a new wooden structure, which contains changing rooms, showers and reception areas.

"We took advantage of the warehouse's material rawness and rough surfaces to introduce a softer element within it, an element made with light materials and smooth surfaces, chiefly by using MDF board panels," architect Nelson Mota told Dezeen.

A wooden grid forms a trellis-like ceiling over the new rooms and bare light bulbs hang down in the spaces between.

Mota explained how the high floor-to-ceiling height of the existing warehouse allowed them to "explore the roof of the new facility as a permeable, or even absent, surface, where the various compartments would be protected not at regular ceiling height, but high above by the arched metallic ceiling."

The only change the architects made to the exterior of the building was to punch an entrance through one of the walls, which they've surrounded with a boxy metal frame.

Other indoor football grounds we've featured include a sports centre in Vienna and a training centre in South Africa.

See more stories about design for sport »

Photography is by Fernando Guerra.

Here's a project description from Comoco:

Our approach to the design of "N10-Eiras" indoor sports facility was determined twofold: on the one hand by the specific characteristics of the existing industrial pavilion in which we ought to insert our solution.

On the other hand by the brief, which asked for three main areas: reception; changing rooms and showers; and a party room.

One volume was created, organizing the two main areas at both sides of the reception area, which is also where the entrance is located.

The new volume thus created occupies the entire width of the existing pavilion, and its own width results from the subtraction of the football field from the pavilion’s total length.

The building system defines the materialization of the volume. A porticoed frame made of American pine wood beams and columns creates the basic structure.

The infill of this structure, both in the roof as in the walls, is made through the use of MDF boards, assembled in such a way as to perform both structural and formal roles in the overall construction.

The raw use of the MDF boards is followed by a straightforward use of white ceramic tiles in the changing rooms and showers, and by the design of the furniture components, which are also made of raw pine wood elements and black lacquered MDF panels.

The layout of the illumination devices was designed in order to accomplish an intense and expressive plasticity out of the volume's formal and material characteristics.

A tunnel-like element pierces the pavilion's existing wall to announce in the outside the entrance to the facility.

Location: Coimbra
Client: N10 Indoor
Architecture: Luís Miguel Correia, Nelson Mota, Susana Constantino

Project / Construction: 2011
Area: 2385.00m2

Total Investment: €1.000.000,00
Construction: € 200.000,00

Engineering: MyOption
Building Contractor: Timotec; Flexifusão, Lda

Axonometric - click above for larger image

Building plan - click above for larger image

Longitudinal section - click above for larger image

Elevation - click above for larger image

Elevation - click above for larger image

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Inspired by mown grass, painted white lines and football kits, the contemporary offices occupy all three floors of the building, which architects StudiOzo had completely remodelled after all that remained was a facade.

Hollandse Nieuwe used studs like those on the soles of football boots to create the shapes of sporting figures on the inside walls, as well as to spell out words.

Numbers are stitched onto sofas so that resemble the backs of football players' shirts, while opaque circles look like little balls on the glazed partitions to meeting rooms.

Surfaces are predominantly green and white in each room, matching the colours of a freshly painted pitch.

Other football-related projects we've featured include a football training centre in South Africa.

See more stories about football »

Photography is by Gerard van Beek.

Here's some more information from the designers:

For the Dutch premiere and first league football association as well as two other associated organisations, Hollandse Nieuwe developed an inspiring office.

The building is a rebuilt villa and only the facade is original.

Whilst the exterior looks like a traditional mansion, the interior has no reference to its historical context.

An abstract of the world that is associated with professional football were the inspiration to develop a visual language based on studs, stitching, leather, chalk lines, patterns of mowed grass and shirt numbers.

Without becoming literal these elements form a new language where for example studs are used to make logos, patterns and figures; stitching is used in detailing benches; the green and white create a fresh and crisp atmosphere. The meeting place for football professionals.

Project: Dutch premiere and first league football association
Delivered: 2012
Size: 1500 m2

Above: original building before reconstruction

Above: original building before reconstruction

Ground floor plan - click above for larger image

First floor plan - click above for larger image

Second floor plan - click above for larger image

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by Hollandse Nieuwe appeared first on Dezeen.

The Nike GS boot weighs just 160 grammes and features a sock liner made entirely from castor beans while the laces, lining and tongue are made of 70% reused plastic including recylced plastic water bottles and polyester.

The sole plate is made from 50% Pebax® Renu - a renewable material made largely from castor beans.

Here's some info from Nike:

Nike has unveiled its Nike GS football boot in London today, the lightest, fastest, most environmentally-friendly production boot the company has ever made.

Due to be worn this summer, designers were challenged to create a new football boot stripped down to include only the essential elements that deliver lightweight performance and high speed control in game situations. The resulting boot is constructed using renewable and recycled materials and designed for explosive performance on the pitch and lower impact on the planet.

Every component of the Nike GS has been optimized to reduce weight and waste, creating Nike’s lightest football boot ever at 160 grams for a size 9.

Conceived and engineered in Italy, the Nike GS features recycled and renewable materials throughout the upper and plate design. A bio-based traction plate made primarily from castor beans ensures strength and flexibility on pitch alongside a sock liner made from 100% castor beans. The boot laces, lining and tongue are made from a minimum of 70% recycled materials. The toeboard and collar, feature at least 15% recycled materials.

“The Nike GS is the lightest and fastest football boot we’ve ever made and really defines a new era in how we create, design and produce elite football boots,” said Andy Caine, global design director for Nike Football. “When you can deliver a boot that combines high end performance and a low environmental footprint that’s a winning proposition for players and planet.”

Nike GS includes the following performance, recycled and renewable materials in the new boot:

Traction Plate & Stud Configuration:

Nike GS traction plate combines a high performance chassis with a strong responsive and agile form. The sole plate is made of 50% renewable Pebax® Renu (a plant derived material made with 97% castor beans) and 50% TPU, made from renewable materials. The plate is 15% lighter than a traditional plate composition.

The traction plate includes a minimalist diamond-silhouette spine, which provides optimal flex and agility in plate performance. Anatomically positioned studs maximize speed in multiple directions to ensure responsive and assured movement on pitch.

Touch & Control:

A solvent-free Kanga-Lite synthetic upper provides zonal reinforcement for exceptional touch and control. The synthetic upper also supports lockdown on midfoot and arch area.

The lightweight and chemical-free sock liner is made of 100% castor beans and eliminates any layers for a snug fit and enhanced touch on the ball.

Stability & Support:

Anatomical and asymmetrical heel counter and heel bucket locks the foot down for stability and support. The counter is made of Pebax® Renu, derived from castor bean oil.

Nike GS will be available through Nike.com and selected online retailers from August 15th.  The price will be $300.

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Sportswear brand Nike have launched the new away kit for France's national football team, based on the Breton stripe.

Created by Nike's in-house design team, shirt is made of recycled polyester and organic cotton.

Photographs are by fashion designer and photographer Karl Lagerfeld.

The information below is from Nike:

NIKE INTRODUCES THE NEW FRENCH FOOTBALL AWAY KIT, COMBINING PERFORMANCE INNOVATION WITH ICONIC FRENCH DESIGN

Kit unveiled in photograph by style icon Karl Lagerfeld

Nike (NYSE:NKE) Today unveils the new national team away kit for the French Football Federation, celebrating the new era in French Football.

Nike's partnership with the French Football Federation was launched in Paris in January this year, and is encapsulated by an overall campaign titled 'Vive Le Football Libre'. The striking new design of the away kit captures the spirit of the French team whilst bringing superior performance innovation and unparalleled elegance on pitch.

The new away jersey takes strong visual cues from the ‘marinière,’ a piece of French history since the last century, and now a timeless French style icon. The marinière first appeared as the uniform of sailors in the French navy in the 19th century and was first seen in civilian wardrobes in the early 20th century. Soon, it would become a symbol of French culture, adopted by free‐spirited individuals in France and beyond.

The jersey has a tailored fit that allows freedom of movement on pitch. The lightweight fabric features Nike Dri-FIT technology and engineered ventilation systems to help keep players cool, coupled with ergonomic cut and soft cotton feel for player comfort.

The kit also embraces Nike's Considered Design approach and along with the home kit launched earlier this year is Nike's most environmentally sustainable kit to date, with shirt and shorts made from microfiber polyester that is entirely derived from recycled plastic bottles. For the shirt, this material is combined with organic cotton (96% recycled polyester, 4% organic cotton.)

The kit is seen for the first time in photography shot by a true icon of the fashion and photography world, Karl Lagerfeld. The photo, which captures the revolutionary elegance of the away kit, features Alou Diarra, one of the faces of the new era of the French team. The FFF away kit will be available as of March 26 and pre-ordered as of March 11.

See also:

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England Home Kit by Peter Saville	Campanas + LACOSTE	More about Nike on Dezeen

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