CONSTRUCTION

Olympic Stadium in Berlin

Introduction3

Literature review3

Evaluation of the literature-Findings4

Conclusions6

Olympic Stadium in Berlin

Introduction

The choice of the structural system was crucially influenced by the three requirements set by the client, i.e. (i) keep the Marathon gate open to allow a free view from inside the stadium towards the Bell tower, (ii) design a roof which will optically not affect the outside appearance of the stadium and (iii) make possible the erection of the roof without any interruption of the sport activities. On these accounts we have decided to give up any concept of a suspended roof. Such a roof would have needed closed outer and inner rings which had impeded the view from stadium through the Marathon gate even if the roofing itself were to be interrupted there. Furthermore either of the two possible suspended roof systems have had also other inconveniences(Marg, 2011, pp.9-14) . The one system with two outer compressed rings had needed a height (distance between the upper and lower ring) of at least 25 m, which was not to be overseen from outside the stadium The other system with only one outer compressive ring had needed a similar height between the two tensile rings situated at the interior of the stadium and therefore the lower cable grid could have had impeded the view from one upper terrace to the opposite, if the outer compressive ring were to be placed not too high above the attic of the stadium.

Literature review

The football World Cup 2006 has focused international attention once more on the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Nearly 70 years ago, it stood in the limelight when it was used by the Third Reich as a gigantic stage for propaganda on the occasion of the XIth Olympic Games(Nienhoff, 2012, pp.27-32). After many years of conversion and rehabilitation work, the stadium has now been transformed into a modern arena in which the claims of a venue used exclusively for football, yet with a multifunctional range of activities, have been reconciled sensitively and in accordance with conservation constraints. The most important change is the new roof, which not only alters the spatial mood within the arena, but transforms the entire complex(Muir, 2012, pp. 105-109).

Evaluation of the literature-Findings

Based on documentation of the construction and the damage that had occurred, a detailed damage analysis was produced which gave a comprehensive picture of the state of the existing buildings. It was not possible to repair ...