A design team has been appointed to work on the construction of a new 60,000-seat national stadium for football and athletics on a 60-hectare (148-acre) site in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Designsport and the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) have been appointed to design the venue in conjunction with Ethiopia-based JDAW Consulting.

Construction work is due to start in 2014, with the development also to comprise an athletics track; an aquatic centre; a residential village and sports arenas alongside the main stadium.

The contract was awarded to the design team by the Federal Sport Commission, following a global competition. The stadium will be designed to FIFA and Olympic standards.

Shaped like a coffee bean to reflect the main source of income in Ethiopia, the stadium is to feature a façade modelled on a Massob - a woven grass communal serving basket.

Designsport CEO Samantha Cotterell said: "The brief was to design a centre that would revitalise sport in Ethiopia. The result is a sports venue which can be used by all.

"It is for community use at a grassroots level right through to providing a high performance training centre for elite athletes and a location for major international sporting events."

Click here for more information from Designsport and click here for more information from LAVA.