Working as a part of a design team that included graphic designers and advertising consultants, Martha Schwartz Partners was commissioned to invent an image for the sites where the World Cup soccer games were to be held in 12 different cities around the United States. A generic, temporary landscape that could be applied to the different stadiums was developed. Composed of easily removable elements, the landscape could not damage the site.

Graphics for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, created by graphic designer Cliff Selbert, became the basis for the landscapes. The site program called for creating seating, a clear, obvious path to the stadium from the parking area, and a way of marking the location of concession stands. Two generic "parterres" were invented as patterns for painting the vast amount of asphalt which is typically outside stadiums. These parterres, either checkerboard patterns or wavy stripes, indicated areas of entry or passage. "Tree tents," shaped like elongated pyramids, were constructed of fabric and placed in "groves." They could be arranged to function in numerous ways, either to mark the pedestrian path to the parking area or to signify a precinct of concession stands. A series of "wavy tooth" benches, fabricated from fiberglass and upholstered with Astroturf, represented a three-dimensional interpretation of one of the games' graphic symbols.

 
 
© 2009 Martha Schwartz Partners