Samantha Cotterell

66
Interview
Samantha Cotterell Creative
67
Samantha Cotterell:
“My passion for sports
started on a greek
island!”
Doha based company Design Sport is a design consultancy specializing
in sport overlay design and major event infrastructure. Coliseum spoke to
General Manager Samantha Cotterell.
Text: Micheal Rennschmied, Pictures: Design Sport
Coliseum: “Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you
became an expert in sports event planning and design?”
Samantha Cotterell: I began my career as an architect in big
architectural offices in Milan working on large scale projects such as
museums, art galleries, World Expo etc.. It was during my years in
Milan that I would travel to the Greek islands for the summer and it
was there that I met some people who were putting together a bid
to carry out all the design + delivery of the Overlays for the Athens
2004 Olympic Games - they suggested I contribute my CV which I
did flippantly. It wasn’t until 6 months later that I got a call to say
they had won the bid + “when was I moving to Athens?”. I had to
make some very serious decisions regarding my personal life but in
hindsight I made the right ones when I joined the Olympic Organizing
Committee as a senior architect working on the main Olympic Park.
I spent four years in Athens and carried out various roles in support
of the Games: firstly 2 years inside the Organizing Committee, then
2 years with a Sport Architecture firm, Decathlon, which became the
main consultant to the Contractor for all the Category A venues. My
passion for sport events started there in Greece after experiencing
a most formative + rewarding 4 years. Professionally, I felt event
architecture was akin to the work I was doing for museums and
exhibition centres but had the added excitement and dynamism
of the competition + efforts of human spirit - I felt privileged to
be involved in the preparation of arenas that contribute to great
historical moments.”
Doha is a growing city with great opportunities and the people make
the experience very special - we very much enjoy and are grateful
for our life in Qatar..”
Coliseum: “You have moved around a bit. Do you prefer a particular
region to work in?”
Samantha Cotterell: “I adore working across cultures. I have lived
abroad most of my life and cannot conceive of a life without some
degree of cultural adaptation. I love to travel, learn languages,
enriching and sharing my knowledge and expertise while I learn from
people + experiences. So, no, I do not prefer any particular region. I
have recently worked in Dubai on Dubai Sport City and for the FINA
2013 World Swimming Championships bid, I am now working in India
for the next Commonwealth Games, and quite recently we got the
contract for the next Asian Football Cup 2011 in Qatar. Additionally,
part of the business is based in Rome and part in Athens. My
work keeps me on the move + I always look forward to the next
adventure!.”
Coliseum: “What exactly are you doing for the Asian Football Cup?”
Samantha Cotterell: “For the Asian Football Cup existing venues
will be used yet some degree of upgrade is required in addition to
the overlay planning. We are carrying out the operational planning
and overlay design and development for all Competition and NonCompetition venues for this tournament.”
Coliseum: “Interesting. But it is a long way from Greece to Qatar,
isn’t it?”
Samantha Cotterell: “Not really! Not culturally! Not
geographically! During the Athens Games the organisers of the
next Asian Games came to Athens recruiting. I was not one of the
recruits, but a friend and ex-colleague of mine had moved to Doha to
take the big job in Overlay Development. She needed someone she
could trust to head the design team for 39 sport venues and I was
the lucky person she approached! Thus it was that I moved myself
and my children to Doha. That was 5 years ago now. Following the
experience with the Asian Games I began to build DESIGNSPORT as
there were many opportunities and no local expertise. I chose to stay
in Doha because its location is geographically favourable, and the
connections I had made during my employment as Head of Overlay
Design in the Doha 2006 Asian Games Organizing Committee were
providing me with opportunities to grow the business.
Coliseum June 2010
Delhi main stadium
Coliseum-online.com
68
Creative Samantha Cotterell
Coliseum: “There are a lot of architectural
firms who are working in the venue design
field. Where do you find your niche in
between all these giants of sports venue
designers?”
Samantha Cotterell: “Our work is
specifically related to events. The
architectural offices to which you refer
carry out venue design as a building
specialty yet few understand the
operational requirements of the event
that any given stadium will host. The
DESIGNSPORT team is made up of exorganizing committee professionals who
have gained their expertise from the
client’s perspective - we understand what
it takes to host the event from inception to
delivery and have working knowledge of
all major stakeholders - broadcast, sporting
federations, media, sponsors, athletes, etc.
- this is our niche, our competitive edge as
sport designers. ”
Coliseum: “This means you can also have
influence in master plans and other areas
of event hosting, if they do not meet the
needs of the event.”
Samantha Cotterell: “DESIGNSPORT is
a multidisciplinary and multicultural team.
We have sport advisors, ex-athletes, film
makers, architects, graphic artists. We
interject where the Clients most requires
our expertise and tailor solutions covering a
broad range of services: bid file compilation,
venue + masterplan appraisals, overlay
design, base venue design, promotional
video, logo animation, sport marketing,
Look of the Games, and other. We often
partner with other leading specilaist to
deliver the best possible result. ”
Coliseum: “Let’s talk about Doha. A lot of
things are going on regarding new sports
venues and events being held in the city.
In the World Cup bid, nine new venues are
planned. There are also large and small
Khalifa Stadium Doha
Coliseum June 2010
stadiums already in the city. Isn’t it a plan
which is a little bit out of control?”
Samantha Cotterell: “Well, Doha has a
greater plan, a greater programme. The
Olympic Committee itself, which acts
also as a Ministery of Sport, has launched
it’s ‘Sport for Life’ campaign to create
awareness of sport, from the community
level to regional and elite athlete
level. Many are critical of Qatar and its
ambition as such a small country, but that
undermines the extraordinary progress +
growth it has had under the current Emir.
Doha is on the map now thanks also to
sporting events. Sport has the opportunity
to raise the profile of the country while
contributing to the health + wealth of its
people.”
Coliseum: “Let’s talk a little about your
work in India.”
when I came back I could not believe the
change. It is a thrill to be invited by the
Indian Governement to work on one of
their most prestigious projects and witness
the phenomenon that is this leap into the
21st century, a transition pregnant with
complexities and contradictions..”
Coliseum: “What we have learned about
you is that you have two major hubs you
are working in: one is Doha and the other
is Delhi. What about Italy? Are you looking
to go back there? A lot of work in terms of
venue design seems to be coming up there
in the near future.”
Samantha Cotterell: “Yes, we would
welcome, and will indeed pursue, work
in Italy. I was brought up in Italy and am
bilingual - It would be a home coming and
an honour to be able to take my experience
back ‘home’’.”
Samantha Cotterell: “In Delhi we have
built a team of seventeen architects who
work inside the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth
Games Organizing Committee. We have
been appointed as expert overlay design
advisors and we are developing and
delivering the overlay for 17 competition
venues and six non competition venues
which has been a challenge given the
timeframe avaiable to us. We were brought
in very late but have managed to be
efficient and solution driven thanks only to
our expertise + previous experience .”
Coliseum: “How could you help a big
architectural office which is working, for
example, in Italy?”
Coliseum: “There is a lot more to do in
India, isn’t there?”
Samantha Cotterell: “The profession has
a very long way to go! There are so many
unexplored areas and so much room for
improvement. I do not want to give away
any secrets - but DS has a plan!”
Samantha Cotterell: “Yes there are a
lot ofopportunities. India intends to bid for
Asian Games and no doubt Olympics too.
Much will, however, depend on the success
of these Commonwealth Games. India is a
fantastically exciting place at this moment
in time. I was in India twenty years ago
as an architecture student and traveller,
Samantha Cotterell: “When we work
with large architecture firms we usually
act as event consultants bringing event
operations and sport specific knowhow to
inform the architect’s designs.”
Coliseum: “How you would describe the
future trend of your work, sporting event
design?”
Coliseum: “Samantha, thanks a lot for the
interview and good luck to DS!.”
www.designsport.net