IAKS, best known for its New Sports Facility Awards co-sponsored by the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a new All-Time Award. She notes as "the best in history" outstanding sports facilities that influenced the development of sports architecture and "raised the interaction of architecture and sport to new heights."
The first in the list of awardees is given to "one of the most important sports complexes in Europe" Olympic Stadium in Berlin, but not as the construction of Werner Mark for the 1936 Summer Olympics, but as a reconstruction of the gmp bureau (2000-2004), which prepared the arena for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. According to the jury, the architects treated the task with the necessary respect and sensitivity, emphasizing the position of the stadium in the Olympic Park complex and the city as a whole, its key spatial elements and the relationship between buildings. The modernization of the facility and the satisfaction of the needs of its users were combined in the project with the conservation of the monument, which made the work of gmp “an example of outstanding quality” in the field of stadium reconstruction.
The stadium, which is often referred to as examples of "totalitarian architecture", like other objects on the territory of the former "Reich Sports Field" (its master plan was completed by March), is inspired by ancient Greek architecture. The open oval arena is surrounded by a monumental facade made of shell limestone and travertine (during the renovation work, each block was numbered, dismantled, and then returned to its original place).
The gmp bureau won the competition for the reconstruction of the stadium in 1998. The main task of the architects was to modernize it in accordance with modern requirements and, at the same time, to preserve it as a monument entered in the state register. The victory in the competition and the successful implementation of the project paved the way for the workshop to other large-scale sports orders: a series of stadiums for the FIFA World Championships in South Africa and Brazil, the UEFA European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
The main element of the reconstruction was the roof over the stands. The simplest way would be to create ring-shaped floors, but they would distort the Marathon Gate - an opening in the bowl of the stadium, visually connecting it to the square located to the west
Mayfeld - "May Field", where under Hitler May Day demonstrations and other political events took place, its bell tower and Langemarkhalle - a memorial to the fallen in the First World War. As a result, the main axis of the historical ensemble would be lost (with all its political implications).
Therefore, the roof is an open ring at the Marathon Gate, covering all 74,475 spectator seats. It is a spatial pivot structure with a span of 68 m, resting on 20 thin tree-like supports with a diameter of 25 cm. Its shell, a translucent membrane, deliberately contrasts with the massiveness of the stadium.
During the renovation process, it was impossible to preserve the original lower tier of the stands. At the same time, the new lower tier received two additional rows (approximately 1600 seats) and was brought closer to the playing field. The architects also added 113 VIP boxes, further increasing the stadium's capacity.
Environmental aspects play an important role in the functioning of a sports arena. The updated air conditioning, heat and power supply system saves up to 1.5 million kWh of electricity, up to 600 thousand kWh of thermal energy and up to 20 thousand m3 of water annually, significantly reducing the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (by 915 tons per year). year).
The renovated stadium is used not only for public events (football matches and concerts, as well as the Mass celebrated there in 2011 by the Pope), but also for television and film filming and weddings (gmp provided the stadium with a chapel for 70 believers, primarily for athletes and coaches who wish to pray before the match).
The IAKS award was awarded not only to gmp, but also to the management company Olympiastadion Berlin GmbH. Among the laureates of the "historical" prize, in addition to the Berlin stadium, were the National Aquatics Center and the Olympic Stadium "Bird's Nest" in Beijing, the Olympic Ice Memorial Arena in Nagano (1996, HOK Sport), the Palau Sant Jordi sports complex in Barcelona, the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo, the Oval Olympic skating rink in Richmond near Vancouver (2010, Cannon Design), the multifunctional sports complex of the sports school in the Bavarian city of Oberhaching (1994, Helmut Blöcher Architects).
