UEFA european football championship stadiums by gmp architekten

‘national stadium’ by gmp architekten, warsaw, poland image © marcus bredt

hamburg-based gmp architekten have completed two stadiums for the 2012 UEFA european football championship. the ‘national stadium’ in warsaw, poland, and the ‘olympic stadium’ in kiev, ukraine, will jointly host the games for the series. the first structure is built on the abandoned site of the 1988 dziesieciolecia arena. it is situated in skaryazewsi park, east of the city center, on the bank of the visuala, and will form the heart of a new sports area. the construction of the facility is divided systematically into two zones: the stands which consist of prefabricated concrete elements and; a steel wire net roof with a textile membrane, suspended on freestanding steel supports with inclined tie rods.

aerial view image © krystian trela

the interior roof consists of a mobile membrane sail that folds together above the pitch. a video cube with four screens give optimal sightlines from all seating positions. the top tier is accessible through twelve arch-shaped, single flight staircases. the exterior facade consists of anodized expanded metal that provides another transparent envelope for the thermal shell of the inner areas. the stadium is draped in the national colors of poland to identify the structure as a landmark.

illuminated membrane image © marcus bredt

playing field image © marcus bredt

(left) tiers (right) membrane with national colors images © marcus bredt

stairs image © marcus bredt

model section image © gmp architekten

site plan image © gmp architekten

project info:

competition: 2007, 1st prize design: volkwin marg and hubert nienhoff with markus pfisterer project leaders: markus pfisterer, martin hakiel co-operation with: j.s.k architekci sp. z o.o. structural design roof and facade: schlaich bergermann und partner, stuttgart – knut göppert with knut stockhusen and lorenz haspel general contractors: konsorcjum alpine bau deutschland ag, alpine bau gmbh, alpine construction polska sp. z o.o., hydrobudowa polska s.a. i pbg s.a. services engineering: htw, hetzel, tor-westen + partners, biuro projektów “domar” lighting design: lichtvision berlin, dr. karsten ehling, dr. thomas müller wayfinding system: wangler & abele, munich client: narodowe centrum sportu sp. z o.o. roof surface area: 69,000 sqm total, 10,000 sqm retractable seats: 55,000 VIP seats: 2,600 construction period: 2008–2011

‘olympc stadium’ by gmp architekten, kiev, ukraine image © marcus bredt

the second structure is a reconstruction of the olympic stadium which will host the final game of the UEFA european football championship. the new design respects the historic fabric with its filigree prestressed concrete upper tier built in 1968, along with the plinth structure of the west end built in 1948. the frame of the new roof structure is  detached and placed clear of the existing bowl, with a membrane incorporating air supports and domes of light.

the lower part of the stand was redesigned and updated in accordance with safety requirements and seats up to 68,000 people. the west end of the stadium, beneath the main stand, is where the players, VIP guests and press representatives are located. after the conclusion of the european football championship in 2012, an athletic track will be inserted to enchance the function of the space. when the glazed structure of the stadium is illuminated in the evening, it becomes an urban landmark in the cityscape of the downtown core.

exterior view image © marcus bredt

(left) structure detail (right) tiers images © marcus bredt

interior view image © marcus bredt

playing field image © marcus bredt

roof membrance image © marcus bredt

model section image © gmp architekten

site plan image © gmp architekten

project info:

competition: 2008 design: volkwin marg with christian hoffmann and marek nowak project leaders: martin bleckmann, roman hepp co-operation with: private creative architectural bureau y. serjogin llc, kiev structural design, roof and facade: schlaich bergermann und partner, stuttgart – knut göppert with markus balz and thomas moschner structural design, concrete and masonry: kkig aachen, kempen krause ingenieurgesellschaft br general contractors: kyivmiskbud, kiev; ak engineering, kiev; master profi ukraine, dnepropetrovsk technical equipment: b.i.g. bechtold ingenieurgesellschaft mbh, karlsruhe lighting design: conceptlicht, traunreut wayfinding system: formkombinat, nina marg, hamburg client: national sport complex ‘olimpiyskiy’, ukraine roof surface area: 43,000 sqm seats: 68,000 VIP seats: 2,300 construction period: 2008 – 2011