About this talk

Running time: 45 minutes

Australian-born Rod Sheard is senior principal of leading sports architects Populous. Following early experiments with stadium design at the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield, Sheard's firm went on to win the competition for Sydney's 2000 Olympic ANZ Stadium. Since then, the firm has built a portfolio of international sports buildings including London's Wembley Stadium, the Yankees ballpark in New York, Nationals Park in Washington D.C., Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England, the London 2012 Olympic Stadium and the forthcoming Qatar World Cup Stadium.

In this talk, Sheard compares the experience of designing the Sydney and London Olympic Stadiums, and explores how his firm has led the way in the evolution of sports venues into the complex, quality buildings they are today.

Recorded at Sheard's home in Putney, London.