gmp Architects Reveal New Sustainable Olympic Complex in Wuxi

Now substantially underway on a large wetland site, the Wuxi Olympic Sports Center includes a stadium for 60,000 spectators, a multipurpose arena with a capacity of 18,000, and a competition pool with 2,000 spectator seats. The structures are embedded in a 140-acre landscaped park that also accommodates a new fitness center, a hotel, an apartment building for the competitors, and commercial facilities.

A construction camera is broadcasting the work’s progress, which can be seen 24 hours a day at this link.

“This sports center stands out internationally as one of Wuxi City’s pilot projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the region’s climate resilience,” says architect Magdalena Weiss, executive partner of gmp Architects and a leader of the firm’s stadium and arena work across Asia and Europe. “We have worked with engineers from sbp schlaich, bergermann partner on the elegant, efficient structures, and from Arup Group Ltd., on the holistic overall sustainability concept for the sports park.”

The ecological concept includes an urban design optimized with respect to solar radiation and the effects of wind, natural ventilation, as well as the utilization of solar, geothermal, and wind energy, says Weiss. Another important element of the design is the “sponge city” concept for the landscape park. Natural waterways are carved into the landscape design, which — with the help of modern rainwater management combining a flood control basin and natural swales — will stand capable of absorbing large quantities of rainwater and of releasing it again slowly over time.

Renowned for consistent design excellence and outstanding service to create 40-plus successful sports venues globally, the architecture firm gmp von Gerkan, Marg und Partners innovates in stadium business alongside visionary clients in Europe, Asia and the Americas, creating icons such as Madrid’s reimagined Bernabéu Stadium (2024) and China’s Kunshan Olympic Sports Center (2025), as well as reinvented landmarks in Berlin and Montréal. The architecture firm is included in a major exhibition at MAXXI Museum in Rome, Stadi: Architecture of a Myth, which traces the history of stadiums, and gmp is also a shortlisted finalist for the Stadium Business Design & Development Awards in the “industry partner” category, as a firm that has consistently designed and delivered outstanding venues across multiple decades.