KAREN MORAN
PHOTOS: COURTESY | Moyao Architects
The new stadium of the Mexican Tennis Open it will be the best in Latin America; Raúl Zurutuza, director of the tournament in Acapulco, assured it at the beginning of its construction and confirms it now Joseph Moyao, architect in charge of the project who put all his experience into it to conclude with what he himself qualifies as a “aspirational and multifunctional building”.
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‘Pepe’ Moyao, as it is known in the industry, spoke with the Diario de los Deportistas about the challenges involved in the construction of the new tournament scenario in Acapulco, which was intended for the Open to rise in category to Masters 1000, but also, hope it’s multifunctional, that is, that it adapts to other shows and complements the Rivera Diamante, an area that aspires to offer visitors all the necessary services.
“The current stadium, unlike the previous one, exceeds 10 thousand spectators, we have 10 thousand 401 spectators plus 116 seats for disabled; what this generates for me is that it is an aspirational project so that the category 500, that today the Open has, can at some point reach the 1000 category”, explained Moyao.
“Everything arose from the vision of the accountant Juan Antonio Hernández to reinforce in Mundo Imperial what will be the Rivera Diamante Acapulco, so when designing this kind of thing everything should be a complement. It must be taken into account that it has an important urban impact; you are in a tourist center in the hotel zone, with the Imperial Forum which is also my project, the Exhibition Center, the golf course and so on, so what we are doing is that in this zone there is a combination of spaces so that get out of it, because you have practically everything, “he continued.
The development of the new property took more than a year in planning alone, since more than 3,000 were necessary to contemplate even the smallest detail. For its execution, Moyao Arquitectos worked hand in hand with the Mextenis group and Imperial World, which meant a sum of efforts for the complex to adapt 100% to the practice of tennis and the tourist needs of the place.
“The time it took us to develop the project was practically a year, it is a project of 3 thousand plans in case you want to quantify in plans, since it was necessary to develop detail of the detail of the detail; accessories, flow analysis, disoptics, mobility, distribution, equipment, etc., all of this was nothing more than planning”; he explained.
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Pepe Moyao is known as the architect of the entertainment palaces in Mexico, in his work he boasts more than 400 thousand seats and his office is to blame of the construction of the Foro Sol in CDMX, the reconstruction of the Frontón México and the WTC Exhibition Center, among other properties. In their own words, the GNP Arena It is “unique in the country” and will offer tennis fans an “unparalleled experience” from February 21 to 26.
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This is the US Open stadium | AFP
Moyao’s trajectory in the industry led his team of architects to develop a complex that took into account all the necessary factors, hand in hand with Mextenis and Mundo Imperial, the renowned architect evaluated the environment down to the smallest detail; from weather, soil and wind, to the implementation of technology that will allow the optimal development of the tournament and all its aspects, the hallmark of his office is functionality and user experience, which is why he did not hesitate to assure ESTO that the GNP Arena of the Mexican Open Tennis is not only the best in Latin America, it is also on a par with great stages such as the Arthur Ashe Stadium, home of the US Open.
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“The theme of making a stadium of this type is to have a very direct relationship with the client, in this case the client is Mextenis with the team of Raúl Zurutuza and on the other hand the investor Mundo Imperial, there we work with the accountant Juan Antonio Hernández Venegas, the key was to have communication with them, based on that we were covering the needs of both, when doing this type of property you have to take into account many things, but in this case our axis was the flow of people and the quality of the service”, he explained.
First class pitch
Despite all the functionalities that the new stadium in Acapulco will have, the tennis court was the central point from which the building started. For its construction, the orientation of the stadium, the material and the spaces that allow tennis players to fully develop their game were taken into account.
“Being a tennis stadium, the orientation of the property is basic and very important to me, it is orientation north south the one that should have a tennis court, the previous stadium was not in that orientation but here all these characteristics were taken into account. Here you can play tennis during the day, in the other you couldn’t do much because of the orientation of the sun and those are the conditions that I was concerned about, that’s why you will see that the building with respect to the land has a turn towards the west side on the tip side and that is the perfect orientation”, he explained.
“The field space is 26 x 46m , it is a court with a really good backstop, of the dimensions of the best stadiums that can be in around the world and also around this we have the first area, which is the platinum, which is made of a removable stand to be able to make movements and change the variables of the central area of the lower part, that will allow us not only to introduce the theme of tennis but also other types of shows with different dimensions on their stages”; detailed the architect.
Ideal structure for tennis
The construction of the GNP Arena began with a spectacular foundation that guarantees the safety of the attendees thanks to the 20-meter-deep pillars that were installed. The structure is made up of a mixed that guarantees, in addition to safety, lThe multifunctionality of the place, since it avoids any type of vibration that affects the development of the events.
“The structure has a series of concrete columns with steel, it is a mixed system, it is a balance point because everything made of concrete would be very robust and heavy, but only steel, although it is lighter, it would be difficult to complement it. All the stands are prefabricated concrete, the frequency of the music in the structure and winds. Nor there is no venue of these characteristics in the country, assuming that it is a place designed for tennis and it is an open building”; Moyao pointed out.
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Removable bleachers that adapt to other events
Moyao presumes that multifunctionality is something present in all its venues and the GNP Arena is no exception. The enclosure has removable stands that allow the growth of the capacity as well as the adaptation of other scenarios.
“The stadium has a capacity for tennis, but we can reach more than 12,000 spectators in other configurations thanks to the fact that the lower part has removable stands, that is, 20% more and it is not that they are bad places, on the contrary, they become extremely premium venues that are closer to the stage.
With technology and thought about the user experience
The design of the new stadium goes beyond the standards established in the national standards, says Moyao, who assured that the main priority is the experience of the attendees, so the accesses, placement of services and implementation of technology were also essential factors thinking In its development.
“Based on experience in other buildings, this arena is divided into six main entrances, there are elevators at all levels, that is, there is accessibility and the stadium is conceptually divided into four quadrants, each one is autonomous, that is, you go out and there are bathrooms immediately, food and drinks, etc.
“All the variables, for example the use of television transmission, we work very hand in hand on this project with the people from ESPN, Raúl’s team and the Mundo Imperial team, then if you put all these together you have an architectural project always giving an added value that in particular on our part is always multifunctionality”; Hill.
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The GNP Arena that opens this February 21st It was built with an estimated budget of 30 million dollars that also includes the value of the property where it is located; In addition, the new Mexican Open tennis complex will have a Grandstand for 3,000 fans, a Grandstand for 1,500 and four practice courts.
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