VUILD unveils regenerative timber stadium for Fukushima football grounds

Building technology start-up VUILD Inc., in partnership with football club operator Sports X, has unveiled a proposal for a new home stadium for Fukushima United FC. The plan details a circular wooden structure built with community participation, designed to serve as a powerful symbol of the region’s recovery.

VUILD wants to create a world-class “regenerative” stadium in a prefecture that continues to rebuild from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster. The new stadium is intended to embody the phoenix spirit of the club’s emblem, serving as a symbol of hope and rebirth.

Inspiration for the design comes from Japan’s traditional “Shikinen Sengu,” the periodic rebuilding of the Ise Grand Shrine. This concept is applied through three cycles: resource circulation, community participation and the transfer of skills. These are part of a three-part cycle of “things, activities and people.” The stadium will be constructed from laminated timber sourced within Fukushima Prefecture. Its components are designed to be disassembled and reused, promoting a circular flow of local resources. The project also includes a system where club affiliates and local residents can participate in the fabrication process like a festival, with plans for forestry and woodworking education to pass skills to the next generation.

The stadium’s design incorporates passive energy systems that utilise Fukushima’s basin climate. The roof shape is engineered to block summer sun while preventing cold winter winds from entering. The exterior walls act as wind catchers to cool the interior, and harvested rainwater will be used for pitch irrigation and toilets. The facility will also store ice created during the cold winter for use in summer cooling. Through these measures, the project aims for energy self-sufficiency.

Ultimately, the project will aim to achieve Living Building Challenge certification, one of the world’s highest standards for sustainable and regenerative design. The complex architectural plan, which combines HP shell and catenary curve structures, is a collaboration between VUILD and the global engineering consultancy Arup, integrating digital design and fabrication techniques.