Could Norman Foster’s £2bn design for the club, which will be seen 25 miles away, turn out to be a case of hubris before ruin? There’s a phenomenon in architectural history whereby great empires build their grandest monuments just before they fall. The Parthenon was completed just before Athens embarked on the devastating Peloponnesian War. Manhattan’s most celebrated skyscrapers went up on the brink of the Great Depression. The British inaugurated the imposing government buildings of New Delhi 16 years before the end of the Raj. I won’t say that this will definitely be the case with the £2bn stadium designed by the Mancunian Norman Foster for Manchester United Football Club, but it’s striking that it’s proposed at a time when the club has closed its staff canteen and made redundant hundreds of workers to cut costs.Every good thing is promised. It is to be “the world’s greatest football stadium”, iconic AND sustainable, with both rainwater harvesting and a “trident” of 200m-hig...
Rowan Moore's article in The Guardian discusses Norman Foster's proposed £2bn stadium for Manchester United, questioning its extravagance given the club's recent cost-cutting measures. The stadium aims to be iconic and sustainable, with grand features like a large public space and visible masts, but the author suggests focusing on doing fewer things well to avoid becoming an unsuccessful collection of extravagances.
