Dezeen Magazine

Video reveals Zaha Hadid's Qatar World Cup stadium nearing completion

The 40,000 seat Al Wakrah Stadium, designed by the late Zaha Hadid for the FIFA World Cup 2022, is taking shape in a town just south of Doha in Qatar.

The stadium in the town of Al Wakrah is one of eight venues that will host games during the football tournament in 2022, along with Foster + Partners 80,000-seater Lusail Stadium and the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, which will be built from shipping containers.

A video released by the Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy shows that the structure of the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed stadium is already complete.

Al Wakrah Stadium by Zaha Hadid Architects for Qatar 2022 World Cup

The fitting of the facade is also well underway and the majority of the stadium's 40,000 seats have been installed.

The stadium's retractable roof, which will allow it to be cooled and therefore used all year round, is currently being constructed. An energy centre that will power the stadium has also been completed.

Al Wakrah Stadium by Zaha Hadid Architects for Qatar 2022 World Cup

The form of the Al Wakrah Stadium is designed to resemble the curved shape of a dhow – a typical fishing boat that is often seen in the port town's harbour.

However, the shape of the stadium was compared to female genitalia when visualisations of the design were first revealed.

Anna Breslaw, Cosmopolitan.com's sex and relationships editor, told Equire.com, "I'm no expert, but I think those are labia", while website Jezebel.com reported: "Any discerning human will be quick to recognize [sic] that the building looks exactly like an enormous vagina."

Al Wakrah Stadium by Zaha Hadid Architects for Qatar 2022 World Cup

At the time Zaha Hadid dismissed these claims, telling TIME magazine: "It's really embarrassing that they come up with nonsense like this. What are they saying? Everything with a hole in it is a vagina? That's ridiculous."

Along with comparing the design to a vagina, Dezeen commenters also thought the stadium looks like a baboon's bum.

The construction of venues for the World Cup has been controversial, with the Guardian carrying out an investigation into construction industry conditions in the country in 2014.

Al Wakrah Stadium by Zaha Hadid Architects for Qatar 2022 World Cup

At the time the British newspaper reported that over 500 Indian migrants and 382 Nepalese nationals had died in the Qatari construction industry since the country won the right to host the tournament.

Hadid responded to the reports by saying: "It's not my duty as an architect to look at it. I cannot do anything about it because I have no power to do anything about it. I think it's a problem anywhere in the world. But, as I said, I think there are discrepancies all over the world."

Images are courtesy of Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.