Architecture

Elements

The design was envisaged as a standard Olympic Games arena, fashioned out of an earth bowl by
par6al excava6on ten feet deep. This structure would house the main foyer, oces, commi8ee
rooms, changing rooms, press and radio boxes, royal box, control room, bars, as well as restaurant
and kitchen.

Stadium Floors
There are 4 types of oorings a=er the connements, which are clay >les, concrete stairs, concrete
oorings, and grass pitch. Each of them was given a unique sense of texture upon impact with the
foot.
The clay 6les are located around the stadium. It protrudes outward and
acts as a sign for the blind, to instruct them that there will be stairs ahead.
The concrete stairs is located next to the seats. The design of the concrete
stairs enhance the gripping to prevent slipping. The concrete 6les which
located at elevated level provide minimalis6c appearance, without any
distrac6ng elements, to allow audiences focus on the happening within
the arena.

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The Turf
The turf was created from two courses of grass, the rst overturned to form a substrate. During the
stadiums opening the oval shaped arena was planted with carpet grass as the lawn pitch would
reach to the edge of terraces. Cinder running track was later added.
The design criteria for the cambered grass pitch was the eciency of water runo from tropical
rain storms. The team aEempted to achieve 100% run-o. Beneath the eld, a herringbone layout
system of subsoil pipes discharged rainwater into a monsoon drain culvert at the Birch Road end.

Outdoor Seats
There are VIPs and normal seats. The repea6ng rows of seats look like there are lines circula6ng
the whole stadium. It represents the baEle ground of the roman gladiators, showing the essence of
combat and aspira>on.
Windows
The windows used are called jalousie windows. It allows maximum cooling and natural ven6la6on.
The glass panels were controllable by a lever. The windows were widely used in the 1950s for
homes and schools during that period. It could be remained opened even when heavy rainfall.
Besides, it is used to control the amount of light. The windows are repeated all over the stadium,
maximising ven6la6ons.

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Can:levered Roof
A series of Eeen reinforced concrete shell roofs each spanning twenty feet between the main
beams, can6levering sixty feet over 3000 covered seats and backwards forty feet to shade the
stadium.Bays were constructed in southerly direc>on. The main beams were 6ed down at the rear
with mild steel rods, to achieve a stress of ten tons. The three inch-thick monolithic concrete shell
vaults were then cast between the main beams.
Portland concrete was used to cut down construc6on 6me, but this was found to yield poor
strengths due to high temperatures by the drying concrete. During the 6me it was built, the
can6levered roof was considered one of the longest structure ever and it s>ll func>oning aEer 57
years.

Decora:ons and Pa?erns

The decora6ons were composed of repea>ng geometrical elements. The glass block wall design is
commonly used in the 19th century for crea6ng visual eect between two spaces. Some of the
decora6ons are of modernist architecture as they were formed of mainly repea6ng geometrical
elements.

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Ligh:ngs
Night-6me illumina6on on the pitch was provided by four 140-foot high oodlight towers
constructed at four corners of upper terraces, with separate ligh6ng systems for running track,
terraced sea6ng and interior spaces.

A signicant engineering challenge of lightning towers is specialist elements were not forthcoming,
compromised design aesthe>cs, or if imported would arrive a=er Merdeka Day. The solu6on was a
series of prestressed concrete pipes. Inside the towers, spaced an6-bucking rings added rigidity and
a cat ladder permiEed access to its top for the maintenance of the oodlights.

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