“It’s a reinvention of not only the architecture, but the lighting of that architecture, which is so much more sophisticated and successful than the typical large stadium.” —Juror Richard Southwick, FAIA
The NFL’s largest venue, SoFi Stadium encompasses a 70,000-seat stadium, a 2.5-acre covered plaza, and a 6,000-seat performance space. Located in Inglewood, Calif., and designed by the Dallas-headquartered architect HKS, the stadium relies on a multipronged lighting scheme that illuminates 3.1 million square feet of indoor-outdoor space.
With lighting by the Cambridge, Mass., firm Lam Partners, the stadium’s sculptural ETFE roof conceals RGBW fixtures that realize the architect’s vision for a transparent, lantern-like effect. Exterior ground-mounted LEDs further enhance the curvature of the canopy.
Inside the stadium, which also features work by New York–based KGM Architectural Lighting, Lam incorporated more than 1,000 high-quality architectural lighting products that avoid glare while bathing public areas in a bright glow. Thoughtful lighting strategies, which extend to white plaster walls and concealed uplighting, foster visual comfort and allow spectators to focus on the field while remaining unbothered by a 30,000-pixel LED media mesh on the roof, visible to planes approaching nearby Los Angeles International Airport.
PROJECT CREDITS
Project Name: SoFi Stadium
Location: Inglewood, Calif.
Client/Owner: StadCo LA and Hollywood Park Land Company
Lighting Designers: Lam Partners; KGM Lighting (suites and clubs only)
Architect: HKS
Landscape Architect: Studio MLA
Photographer: Nic Lehoux; Bruce Damonte
Project Size: 3.1 million square feet (including the 70,000-seat stadium, the 2.5-acre covered outdoor American Airlines Plaza, and a 6,000-seat performance venue)
Project Cost: Confidential
Lighting Cost: Confidential
Watts per Square Foot: 0.72w/sf (Interior), 0.24w/sf (Exterior)
Code Compliance: Filed Under 2013 Title 24, Certified to meet 2016 Title 24 Requirements
Lighting Product Manufacturers: Saco; Lumenpulse; Erco; Selux; Gotham; Delray; ETC
This article first appeared in the January/Febuary 2023 issue of ARCHITECT.
