His rivals included SANAA, Herzog & de Meuron, gmp and Carlos Ferrater. The customer's task was to transform the stadium of the 50s, and so the largest in Europe (in 2001, it accommodated 112 thousand spectators, at the moment - 98,000) into a modern sports complex. By 2011, there will be new lobbies, stairs, escalators and elevators, service passages, the design of the stands will be renewed, and 10,000 more seats will be added.
But the main element of Foster's project is the new shell of the stadium. The architect, inspired by the mosaic of broken ceramic tiles "trencadis", which was widely used in his buildings by Antoni Gaudi, plans to cover the outer walls of the arena with bright scales of glass and plastic panels. They will be painted in four colors: blue and purple - the colors of Barcelona - and red and yellow - the colors of the Catalan flag. These panels will also be located on the new roof of the stadium, a lightweight movable structure reinforced with steel cables.
Lights will be installed behind the new shell, which will make it possible to highlight certain parts of it at night, turning the stadium into a giant screen onto which full-color moving images can be projected.
