French architecture studios Sockeel and Olgga have joined forces to revamp the stadium of football club ULS Dunkerque into a beautiful and accessible facility for the community in the historic beach town.

The duo have won a design competition for the “demolition and reconstruction” project, which will see the aging Stade Marcel-Tribut re-designed and expanded by 2,000 seats to hold 5,000 spectators.

Work will begin in September 2017 when the south stand is demolished, paving the way for rebuilding to take place in 2018. When complete, the new-look stand will house 2,252 spectators, with 138 corporate seats, 15 private boxes and 47 accessible spaces for fans with limited mobility.

The north stand will then be rebuilt in 2019 to add a further 2,486 seats. Both parts of the stadium will be connected by a curved, gently sloping promenade in the west, which will house shops and food and beverage outlets to “make the stadium attractive around the week.” A peripheral walkway will allow spectators to walk around the stadium while looking out towards the town through the timber latticed facade.

Final demolitions will then place in 2019 to allow space for a new entrance to the stadium that is accessible to all spectators from a raised courtyard. Finally, a hybrid natural-artificial pitch will be installed. The whole project is scheduled for completion by Q2 2020.

Describing their design in a statement, Sockeel and Olgga said: “This architectural project is distinguished by an elliptical structure with simple and fluid shapes. A curtain of wooden slats will embellish the stadium as a unifying element.”

ULS plays in France’s third division, but has ambitions of climbing the football pyramid. It is hoped the new stadium and its capacity to hold bigger crowds will cement this push. The team will continue to play at the ground throughout the building process.

The cost of the project has been set at €14m (US$15m, £12m.)

The architects have future-proofed their design by allowing space for a second phase of development in the future, which would increase the capacity of the Tribut to 8,000.

The Stade Marcel-Tribut first opened in the 1930s, but was rebuilt in the 50s after being destroyed during the Second World War.