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Cities and investors around the world are discovering the transformative power of sports to rejuvenate districts, attract tourists, and drive economic growth. An architect from a global design firm that builds iconic stadiums and arenas explains the magic of creating spaces like Hong Kong’s Kai Tai Sports Park and the challenge of balancing design for local versus global audiences.

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So if AI is giving us back our time during work, where are we spending it after work? Our next speaker knows where to go for both fun and recreation. Ismael Merchin is one of Asia's leading sport and entertainment venue designers who works as an architect for Populist, a global design firm that builds iconic stadiums and arenas. Most recently, Ismail contributed to Kai Tak Sports Park, a 28 hectare sports and entertainment precinct in Hong Kong. Cities and investors view sports as a new diplomacy to attract tourists and drive economic growth, and Ismail has witnessed firsthand how sports centers have helped to revitalize districts, strengthen community, and bolster cultural engagement. And now let's step into the arena with Ismael Merchin and Fortune's Nicholas Gordon. Ismael, it's so great to have you here and have you talk about the Kai Tak Sports Park. I see it every day when I take the 101X Express bus back from our office in Kowloon Bay to my home in Kennedy Town. So I see that stadium every afternoon at 6 p.m. as I take the bus, um, and I believe we have some footage we're going to show in the background as we as we have this discussion, but um. So tell us a bit about about the story of the sports park and kind of how you got involved. Yeah, so, um, Kaiak sports, sorry, sports architecture if I, if I want to speak a little bit about sports architecture is fascinating because it's kind of like lives in the core of tradition, culture, community integration with the city. And with the Kai Tak Sports Park we have the amazing opportunity to transform the Kai Tak Airport, but it was like a unique um icon for Hong Kong. I mean probably some of you have been landing in Kai Tak Airport in the past and it was part of the identity of the city, so we have a greater responsibility to define that space that was no longer in use and transform it into a sports park, um, and that park actually. The brief had to serve. I had to do clear instructions. They had to serve. Concerts and world-class events, but it also had to be integrated with community, also had to serve the surroundings, the new area of Kowloon Bay, and with that we have to focus our design for these two kind of like moments that they are so different between one another. That they have to serve two different purposes and they have to actually respond to two different needs. um, so our design was focused to kind of like probably in Hong Kong it's like a concrete jungle like vertical buildings very dense, very congested and concentrated so we, we wanted to create an urban oasis where people actually could come and relax and enjoy the moment and just stroll around without not. Um, uh, not stress that Hong Kong is so, um, so, so related to, so we wanted to kind of like create that moment of peace in the chaos in like the chaos of Hong Kong where people actually could come and enjoy an afternoon with their kids or grandchildren and and I do want to kind of drill into kind of your design approach for this project in a second, but before I do that, I mean. You said, you know, it's built in the old Kai Tech Airport. There is a lot of romanticism about that space, you know, it's, it's, it was one of the, one of these classic sites of Hong Kong, the airplanes, you know, flying over the buildings. You know, how have you tried to kind of work that heritage into the project? Um, so we, we have to, we have to remember that there is no longer an airport, so the identity has changed into a sports park, but obviously we wanted to play homage to kind of like that sentimental feeling, that nostalgia that it was kind of like the Kai Tak Kai Tak Airport. So we have actually recovered and especially during construction it was fantastic. Because we at the moment when we're digging, we actually found so many artifacts from the old airport, like the lights of the runway we even found like one of the bombs from World War II actually that was inactive, so it was like a big moment of the construction where we had to kind of like leave the site and everything for security purposes, but. It was amazing that we, we were actually being built in a life site and we actually kind of like took all these elements that we kind of like find out through the history and we have actually built a small museum next to the um uh the main stadium but it wasn't part of the brief but it was great to kind of like. Keep that essence of what this place was once for the people to enjoy. It's so funny we we romanticize the airport now, but if you look at the archives, everyone is always complaining about the airport. It's too small, it's in the middle of the city, so it's kind of funny that that we now think of it. with this kind of romantic idea, but I want to talk about the, the sports part now. I know when you're looking at a project like this, when you're looking at a building this complex, I mean, what are the sorts of design questions you have to think about and kind of how did you answer them in the context of Kite? Yeah, that's a very good question because we, we tend to design these or we know that these, um, massive buildings, I mean they are not small and they require a lot of space in the city. They, they are urban catalysts. They have that amazing power to basically change completely the urban fabric of a city, and when it's done well, um, it actually can respond to the needs and offer a solution for the the lack of community of, of the city. I mean Hong Kong, for example, with high tech. Hong Kong needed a world class stadium. Um, they needed that uh space where they could actually host and bring um entertainment and put again Hong Kong in the map of events. I mean there is a funny anecdote because Hong Kong had a a a a stadium already. It was a fantastic where the Hong Kong evts were being hosted, but it is a funny anecdote because the city continue growing and it grew around the former stadiums of Hong Kong. And then the noise of a concert became a problem. And uh it was a funny anecdote that in one of the Michael Jackson concerts uh back in the 90s, they gave to people cotton globes, so when they were actually clapping for cheering for Michael Jackson, they were not actually bothering the, the surrounding neighborhoods. But then um the former stadium actually became a little bit um. Uh, not responding to the needs of new artists, new events, and with Kitech, um, talking about technology, it has like probably one of the most technological advanced stadiums right now in the world with the roof, uh, openable roof that, um, is, is located on top of the stadium that it doesn't have only the purpose of controlled weather like you host events when it's raining, but that. The roof is so thick that there is no sound leakage. It's completely soundproof, so you could host a Metallica or ACDC concert inside, and the neighbors around it, they will not hear a sound. So it will, it will actually play well for the location of it is located. And I want to talk about kind of we call it an urban catalyst so that there's a way that these sorts of sports parks and these kind of developments can kind of invigorate a neighborhood, invigorate an area. There are also examples where maybe that doesn't happen, you know, you look at like we'll talk about, you know, urbanism, urban design, and someone's always complaining, here's a stadium, it's surrounded on all sides by giant car park. Like that does not seem like it would be a development that might help a neighborhood. It might even degrade it. So when you're thinking about a sports complex, you know, what do you have to keep in mind to make sure that it ultimately enhances the community rather than degrades it. Good question. Um, When we design stadiums, we, we just come with a concept in mind that these ones are not isolate isolated objects inside a stadium inside like a place. They need to be well connected, well integrated, well threaded with the community that they are located. Um, obviously cultures and, and identities and ways of living in the US, I mean, the use of cars is more like developed that probably in in other places like Hong Kong than the transport, uh, public transport is amazing and everybody use the MTR, um, so but in, in the case of, uh, Hong Kong, we didn't have like that massive space that we just could do whatever we wanted. It's a large space but we needed to actually compact so many things on it. And um the the way that it was connected with the cities is like through so many connections that they are not only used as a corridors for people to go, they are using as a passive wayfinding elements where art is being located, traditional wayfinding is is placed so people actually can find their way around the space and go directly to where they want to be or just. Rest and spare the time in different pockets of um activities that we have placed around the entire space. So there is so many ways to enjoy and leave Kai Tak Sports Park and you know let's talk more broadly now because you know you guys have worked on several of these sports complexes. You have another one being built in the Shaolam sports complex in Malaysia. But you know, given that you've worked on this kind of over, over, you know, decades if not longer, I mean, what are some of the lessons that you guys have learned in developing these sports complexes and how have they had to change to keep up with changing tastes, changing demand, changing uses like what's changed about how you think about a, about a sports complex? So, um, I think all that comes a lot with the operations as well and the design for the purpose that it has been or is going to be built. So there's a lot of talks with the operation uh teams that they're gonna operate once it's open and we need to make sure that these large complexes, they, they, they are built for maybe one. Purpose, uh, for like one games or like um um Southeast Asian games or or something else, but they need to live beyond that event day. You need to make sure that those elements are gonna be continually used by. Either future games or the community or um teams around the place. So Selangor for example is different because it's built for one of the teams in in Malaysia for Selangor, which Hong Kong in that case, the Kai Tak Stadium is not built just for one team itself. So, and, and, and not just for sports either, you know, Coldplay. Correct, I mean like you, you have to actually make sure that it's resilient enough and flexible enough to kind of like host all sorts of types of, of, uh, events. I mean it has been weddings, it has been conferences, it has been, uh, sports concerts, e-sports games in stadium, and we're even building uh one in Middle East that is gonna host like drone racing as well, so it's like. Bring it on. I mean, new ideas are great to kind of like make those stadiums alive and full constantly and you know, and when you're thinking about a city, you know, I talked to cultural people in Hong Kong and they always complain how there aren't enough venue spaces, big or small. There was this viral photo a couple of years ago where it was like in Asia World Expo Hall 1, Olivia Rodrigo, hall 2. Uh, the Belt and Road conference, um, and you don't have to talk about Hong Kong specifically, but you know when it comes to thinking about cities as hubs for entertainment, as hubs for, you know, sports and arts and culture, I mean, what, what are kind of the like what's the balance between having these like giant venues and smaller mid-scale to have a sustainable, you know, entertainment. Factor like this, yeah, so that's a good question because actually I've been talking a lot about the Kaiyak stadium, but the sports park is so much more as well. It has like a um 50,000 spectator stadium but also has like a 10,000 spectator arena and a 5000 spectator sports ground. And with, with these three elements that they are like different in size, you could actually host all sorts of programs, audiences, events that actually will respond to those different needs and you don't have every day. A Coldplay event or uh a Taylor Swift coming into Hong Kong, but maybe you have like other local artists that they have also their audiences and you need to actually kind of like cater for all these wide spectrum of users interest um and that will help not just the operators to kind of like get their um uh return of investments but also like bring Hong Kong in the map and serve the community and and bring the community. More leisure, more elements of a place of the city where they can fully thrive and enjoy. And so what are you thinking about when it comes to kind of sports and how communities experience sports going forward, you know, with new technologies, new ways of consuming like, you know, live streaming stuff like that, but like, do you see the way that people consume sports entertainment changing in the future and do you see sports parks changing along with them? 100%. I think like these buildings are. are not static. I mean, I don't want to see them as static objects. They, they, they are dynamic. They are alive like every day things need to change depending on the event that you're gonna host. Um, uh, we had one of the concerts where the artists, they wanted to actually fly in the center of the stadiums on top of a moon, so you need to actually provide the infrastructure to support their vision, the ideas for that event. Um, so it's, it's great to see that the, the stadium has been designed, resilient enough, flexible enough to actually be able to cater for all these. Human imagination. I mean we spoke before about somebody spoke before about the human imagination. It's great that we are offering a canvas where those artists can bring and and basically explore with the space, bring ideas because ultimately that will echo into the user experience which we are actually um looking into. I like to call ourselves that more than architects we are experienced designers. You know, I, I maybe want to kind of close things off by asking, uh, not, not quite a personal question, but it seems like with a complex like this you get to see, you know, it's not that you just get to see your work being used, but you get to see your work being used in. Extremely large and bombastic ways whether it's the rugby sevens or the Coldplay concert or most recently I think the national games, you know, like what's it like kind of seeing this project that you've worked on like be used in this like really kind of public and and yeah this this really kind of public in a large way and it's it's, it's amazing. I mean it's like for me has been the, the, the biggest reward has been attending one of the first events of, of the stadium and have a, a funny anecdote that. When I started construction, um. Uh, Kaak Sports Park, um, I got also my kids at the same time and I've seen my kids and the sports part actually growing at the same time, and, uh, I, I saw that I knew about this sports park, everything, right? I mean, I've been like walking this, um, construction alleyways for like 6 years in a row, but the moment that I went there with my kids to show them. The first event that it happened, it was a completely new experience. I mean it was like a whole new world of like ideas and feelings actually came to me because I saw the kids enjoying the space, the way that we were designing for it and not just my kids but every other kids and families and and people, it was an athletes as well. I mean we we we we don't just design for the users we design for the event organizers, we design for the the athletes so it was fantastic to see that. Everybody playing a key role and everybody happy with the results of Kai Tak Sports Park. Well, I look forward to catching more mega events at the Kai Tak Sports Park. Ismail, thank you so much for joining us today and talking us through this great new project that just opened in Hong Kong. Please everyone give Ismael a round of applause. Thank you.

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