Batumi Stadium

Ferncroft Home — two people sitting next to each other reading a book

Location

Batumi, Georgia

Recognition

FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence 2023 — Best Public Infrastructure · Stadium of the Year 2020 — 6th Place

Overview

Located on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, Batumi Stadium is a 20,035-seat UEFA Category IV venue designed by Bahadır Kul Architects. Opened in 2020, the stadium brings together international football standards, a compact spectator bowl, and an expressive architectural identity rooted in Georgian culture, establishing a new civic landmark within Batumi’s developing leisure district.

Challenge

The project required a 20,000-seat stadium to be positioned on a constrained 87,000-square-metre urban site while maintaining the preferred north–south orientation of the pitch. The design also needed to manage complex event circulation, uninterrupted spectator views, Batumi’s wind and rain conditions, and the ambition to create a contemporary building with a distinctly Georgian identity.

Solution

The façade translates the energy and circular movement of the traditional Georgian Khorumi dance into 76 overlapping membrane panels, each positioned at a different height and angle. This rhythmic outer skin unifies the façade and roof, protects the spectator bowl from the coastal climate, and becomes a programmable illuminated surface that transforms the stadium after dark.

Result

Batumi Stadium combines a compact double-tiered seating bowl, clearly organised circulation, uninterrupted sightlines, a hybrid playing surface, and UEFA-standard lighting and technical systems. Serving FC Dinamo Batumi as well as national and international matches, the stadium has become one of the city’s defining public buildings and received the 2023 FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence award for Best Public Infrastructure.