Recreational Architecture

The architecture of recreational facilities encompasses the buildings and campuses used for sports, leisure activities, adventure and thrill activities.

- Ar Nitin Gupta

Sports complexes, stadiums, amusement parks and public gardens are core faculties of recreational architecture, while buildings such as cinema halls, theatre, spa and resorts and museums are a cross between entertainment, recreation, culture and commerce. While Las Vegas is the recreational capital of the world for adults, tourist magnets like Orlando, Dubai and Singapore have become the family entertainment and tourism urban centres.

Sports Stadiums: Professional sports, be it tennis, golf, boxing, football or cricket, have created an environment where sports events and tournaments are exploited for commercial gains. IPL Cricket Tournament in India has generated a frenzy to develop cricket stadiums. These buildings, which were once considered a white elephant, are profiting ventures today.

Since the days of the Colosseum, the monumental arena for Gladiator combats in the Roman era, stadium have been exploited by politicians to create architectural monuments. Architects and structural engineers have leaped ahead in methods of creating large spans. Similarly, civil engineering technology has been innovated close to its limit by engineers such as Pier Luigi Nervi to create marvelous new solutions for stadium roofs and spectator seating systems.