LA Rams: SoFi stays cool the old-school way even as Rams heat up

The crown jewel of the NFL football fields will be unfurled on her maiden voyage in 2021. And much of the fuss is about how impressive the technological advances are to the stadium itself. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it features all of the bells and whistles that you can think of. But it is more than a lavish Christmas tree of stadiums, with lights that twinkle in mesmerizing patterns to amaze onlookers.

You see, there is more in this structure than Star Wars technology. It is a functional structure, designed to have a smaller carbon footprint than many buildings of a much smaller size. One of the key struggles with a large structure is temperature control. As soon as a contained space fills seats with humans in attendance, each person is a small power plant emanating 90+ degrees in new heat.

So any architectural design must not only play to disperse heat generated in the area by the environment but also shed the heat of so many fans. Historically, that function was handled by energy-hogging heat pumps and central air conditioning. Fortunately, SoFi Stadium has a few tricks up its sleeve.

It’s an impressively designed structure, and for all intents and purposes will continue to reveal new precious information about its overall design for years to come. And in both the video above and the tweet below, you hear from the principal designer of SoFi Stadium, Lance Evans. Evans is the senior designer at HKS Architects, the prestigious design firm that drew up the plans for the ambitious SoFi Stadium project.

The project itself required six years from first drafts to first visits of a finished structure. One of the more impressive features is the way the roof structure at SoFi operates. The roof is made up of multiple operable panels. They can open or close to allow free airflow and allow hot air to escape but can be closed to protect the field and fans from rain (does it ever rain in sunny Southern California?) or colder temperatures.

So what? Well, if you can endure a quick lesson in aerodynamics? Wind moving across the open roof creates a vacuum of sorts over the stadium, much the same way that a wing of an airplane creates lift for the plane. Heated stadium air rushes up to fill the vacuum from inside the stadium, drawing in an equal amount of cooler air that surrounds the structure.

But SoFi stadium is also a water conservation project. The cooling system inside the stadium actually also serves to collect rainwater, store the water in man-made lakes, and then disperse the water into the neighboring wetlands.

The wonders at SoFi Stadium never cease to amaze

Even as the temperatures rise, the wind effect of fresh air howling through will keep spectators cool. So don’t hesitate to purchase your tickets and attend the first season of fandom at Sofi this year. No matter how hot the LA Rams heat the place up, you will be cool the entire time.