Here’s another stadium designed by German studio
GMP Architekten (see our earlier stories
here and
here) for the
2010 FIFA World Cup starting this week in South Africa.
Above photograph by Bruce Sutherland
Called Green Point Stadium, the project is located in Cape Town and has a capacity of 68,000 on three tiers.
Once the 2010 FIFA World Cup is over 13,000 of these seats will be removed and replaced with suites for hire and club rooms.
The stadium features a curved laminated glass roof with clear glass
in the middle and an enameled ring on the outside to reduce heat and
light intensity.
Above photograph by Bruce Sutherland.
The facades and underside of the roof are clad in a translucent glass fabric with a silver coating.
More 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums:
Soccer City by Boogertman Urban Edge + Partners and Populous
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium by GMP Architekten
Moses Mabhida Stadium by GMP Architekten
Here’s some more information from GMP Architekten:
Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa
The skyline of Cape Town is dominated by Table Mountain, Signal Hill
and the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Town Stadium forms a landmark at the foot
of Signal Hill, and fits respectfully into its environment. The
challenge was to create a standalone building in this unique location
that enriches rather than mars the world-famous picture-postcard
setting.
Above photograph by Bruce Sutherland
Specifically, the job was to design a stadium on part of Green Point
Common, an 80ha public park in the city center that would become iconic
of Cape Town. The Common also contains South Africa’s oldest golf
course and oldest rugby club. It is surrounded by residential areas,
and is close to Cape Town’s central business district on the old
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is now the city’s main tourist
attraction.
Green Point Common has history in Cape Town. It was a rocky
wasteland until, in 1923, the government of the Union of South Africa
made it over to the city as common land on which recreational areas and
sports facilities would be set up. Over the past decades, the area of
common land has been whittled away, most of it no longer being
accessible to the public, having been leased to private sports clubs
and other organizations.
After careful political consideration, it was decided to locate the
stadium so as to forge a link between the commercial center and Green
Point Common, and reorganize the existing sports facilities. Fort
Wynyard artillery fort, Green Point cricket ground and the golf club
were integrated into the public park.
Together with the horizontal line of Table Mountain and the rounded
top of Signal Hill, the curving contours of the stadium act as a kind
of bottom note in a harmonious triad. Lightweight in concept, the
circular stadium comes across as unobtrusive and respectful of its
surroundings. Its appearance varies greatly with the typical lighting
conditions of the area. With its translucent external skin, it reacts
to different weather and daylight conditions at different times of the
day or seasons, and diverse lighting effects give it a sculptural look.
This design concept was combined with the purely functional
requirements. For spectators, it provides a logical but sensory
structure, and inside the stadium engenders a terrific atmosphere
during soccer and rugby matches and concerts alike. The stadium
provides seats for 68,000 spectators, arranged on three tiers, 2,400 of
them for business and a further 2,500 in boxes. Broad access promenades
on Levels 2 and 6 form “lobbies” round the stadium arena, allowing
visitors freedom of movement, a pleasant environment to linger in and
ease of orientation round the stadium. The pitch is visible from the
“lobby”. The upper “lobby” at a height of 25m offers a panoramic view
over Green Point Common, the city and the ocean.
The parabolic profile of the stands gives all spectators an optimal
view of the pitch. The strongly curving outline of the top tier
contrasting with the more muted curves of the roof edge is a result of
their functional geometry. During the 2010 soccer World Cup, temporary
rows of seating will be installed on either side on the top tier, but
these are due to be replaced later by events suites and clubrooms. That
will reduce seating capacity from 68,000 to 55,000 but increase the
number of rentable areas, so as contribute to the commercial viability
of the stadium post-World Cup.
One critical objection to the politically motivated location in a
small-scale setting was the height of the stadium. Due to the rocky
subsoil, the pitch and bottom tier could not be sunk into the ground.
To reduce the apparent height of the stadium, therefore, we provided an
elevated plateau as an artificial land-scape feature that mediates
between the surroundings and the stadium and lessens the perceived
height of the stadium. Broad ramps and steps on three sides lead up to
this plateau, under which is parking space for over 1,200 cars, a goods
delivery area and access for fire engines and emergency services.
The need to weigh down the flat suspended roof against aerodynamic
uplift and achieve rainwater runoff without pumps prompted us to come
up with an innovative structural solution: a synthesis of a
saddle-shaped, curved suspension roof and a truss-girder system, with
heavy glass roofing to prevent wind suction upwards.
These steel truss girders on load-bearing cables form the core of a
roof structure clad on both sides. The 36,000m² roof is made of
laminated glass. The inner, 16m-wide ring consists of clear glass so
that the pitch gets a lot of natural light, while the external glass
areas are enameled, to reduce heat dissipation and cut the light
intensity by about 80%. The underside of the roof structure is, like
the façades, clad with a translucent membrane, which not only covers
the technical installations but also provides sound insulation. The
loudspeaker system, floodlighting and stand lighting systems were
integrated into the roof. Despite the total glass weight of 4,500 tons,
the roof is still a lightweight structure compared with roofs of
similar size.
Above photograph by Bruce Sutherland
The façade was designed as a horizontally profiled membrane. Its
undulating silhouette transforms the stadium into a large-scale,
translucent sculpture. The membrane is a semi-transparent glass fabric
with a silver coating, enveloping the load-bearing structure like a
veil while allowing glimpses of the interior. In the highly changeable
weather conditions in Cape Town, it offers frequently changing
reflections—like the changing light conditions and moods of the day:
white and light on bright summer days and shrouded in grey on stormy
winter days. At sunset, the stadium is bathed in a reddish glow. At
night, it gleams like a Chinese lantern, revealing its interior.
Cape Town’s world-famous skyline has acquired a new architectural
feature. The new stadium has unobtrusively taken its place in the
impressive urban landscape of the Cape of Good Hope and in the hearts
of South African citi-zens whatever their ethnic origin.
from dezeen
