MZ Architects were recently approached to design a sports facility which would be situated in the heart of the city Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates with a simple brief of ‘creating a building that merges architecture and landscape’. From this the idea of “The Rock Stadium” stemmed. The stadium would be a 200,000 sqm colosseum-like structure built into the desert itself and would use local materials to create an aesthetic that blends naturally with the surrounding scenery.