National Stadium in Warsaw

The Specs: The two-tiered venue, measuring some 200,000 square metres, seats 55,000 sports fans.

Design details: Built on the site of the crumbling 10th Anniversary Stadium, this new venue features a steel-wire webbed roof veiled in a textile membrane that hangs from freestanding steel supports, giving it a quilted look. Above the pitch – and a central video cube, positioned at 112 metres high – the undulating PVC roof is retractable for games in great weather. The stadium’s façade is made of anodized expanded metal that features a checkered display of Poland’s national colours: white and red. It also provides another transparent envelope for the thermal shell.

Interesting fact: The 2,000-tonne mobile roof was installed by Italian steel fabricator Cimolai and is powered by 72 engines; it unfolds in 15 minutes.

Olympic Stadium in Kiev

The Specs: The 145,741-square-metre venue holds 68,000 ticket holders.

Design details: While the Olympic Stadium is not an entirely new build (it hosted the soccer matches of the 1980 Moscow Olympics), the venue has been given a substantial facelift. A new glazed facade and roof structure enclose the existing arena, which was also redesigned to meet current safety standards. The new roof is striking. Installed by Germany’s Hightex, the PTFE-coated glass mesh membrane is dotted with oculi to optimize natural lighting.

Interesting fact: The interior lighting was designed by Philips, which combined a functional and decorative solution. Its 608 ArenaVision floodlights frame the roof’s edge, creating what the manufacturer has dubbed the “ring of fire.”