When Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace returns to its newly transformed Stade de la Meinau, parts of former passenger aircraft will form the stadium's new southern facade, designed by international sports architecture practice Populous in collaboration with Strasbourg-based Rey-de-Crécy.
The redevelopment incorporates sections of 30 decommissioned Airbus A340 wide-body airliners, cut and re-engineered into 196 individual panels covering approximately 4,050 square metres of the south-facing façade, forming a brise-soleil.
According to designboom, the idea originated during the COVID-19 pandemic; TARMAC Aerosave, the aviation maintenance and recycling company, has produced large sections approximately six metres high by 2.5 metres wide.
The individual aircraft identities, however, have not been publicly released, and there is no reliable public evidence that the façade consists of one particular airline's fleet or can be traced to named aircraft.
