Yekaterinburg-Arena is the only venue for the 2018 FIFA World Cup that was not built specifically for it, but appeared as a result of the reconstruction of an existing stadium. It, designed in the spirit of Soviet neoclassicism in accordance with the norms and rules of that time, has managed over the years to become outdated in its operational characteristics and become an architectural monument.
The decision to transform the Central Stadium of Yekaterinburg into a world-class arena for football matches in accordance with FIFA requirements caused a lot of controversy. Firstly, not so long ago, he already barely survived the reconstruction, which dragged on for years and changed his appearance. Secondly, it seemed that it was impossible to increase the capacity to the minimum required 35 thousand seats, since it was necessary to preserve the historical façade. The location of the stadium did not leave any room for maneuver: it is closely sandwiched between hospital buildings, the territory of the Ural Medical University and residential buildings. The close proximity is simply explained: a large sports ground at this place existed even when there was still no hospital, no medical institute, or high-rise buildings. Before the revolution there was a velodrome here, during the NEP - a wooden stadium named after Lenin, and in the post-war period the Central stadium appeared, which became the best stadium in the Urals.
It was designed by the architects of the local branch of Promstroyproekt at the very beginning of the fifties. Central, which grew a dozen meters from
the medical town of Georgy Golubev looks like a bold line drawn under the Sverdlovsk constructivism.
Excessively lush, with a portico and a parapet wall, with columns on which there are statues of athletes and workers, with bow niches above the windows, it vaguely resembles the Colosseum in the form in which it has come down to our days. The western and eastern stands, which organize the space of the stadium, are of variable heights: they are three-story in their center, they drop sharply to the sides, while on the north and south sides, behind the gates with obelisks, there were large open entrances to the field.
The northern and southern stands were completed during the reconstruction that began in 2006 and lasted for almost five years. They looked laconic and artless, causing a lot of criticism and regret. Now they were demolished, and instead they put temporary ones - for twelve thousand spectators - who will be removed after the Championship. However, even together with them, the Yekaterinburg stadium did not reach the FIFA norm, which, we repeat, stipulates at least 35 thousand seats for fans.
This problem could be solved only by increasing the height of the stadium. Flanks of variable height were raised flush with the parapet walls. In fact, the entire historical part of the stadium now serves only as a facade: atriums are designed between it and the real eastern and western stands.
Such a transition with elusive boundaries between old walls and new ones required a thoughtful approach to the choice of facade materials. The cladding had to be as neutral as possible to minimize the inevitable dissonance, and visually very light so that the historic façade did not appear pinched to the ground under the weight of newly added levels.
As a result, the designers settled on Gradas aluminum facade cassettes. The material was already well known to the people of Yekaterinburg: it was he who faced one of the most famous buildings in the city -
"Yeltsin Center" designed by Boris Bernasconi.
For the "Yekaterinburg-Arena" we used perforated cassettes, which gave the very necessary airiness. The holes on them are round, of various diameters and located diagonally. Gradas technology allows you to make them not only in almost all sizes in any order of arrangement, but also in any shape: rectangular, trapezoidal, oval, triangular, composed of several geometric shapes and cut according to an individual pattern.
Facade cassettes Gradas turned out to be light not only visually, but also in the literal sense, which greatly simplified their installation. They are made from sheets of aluminum alloy, which are only two millimeters thick. They were fixed on a subsystem of light metal profiles and U-Kon fasteners.
The basic size of the cassettes on the facade is 1,300 x 1,400 mm. There are cassettes up to 2,700 mm high, but there are few of them. All elements of the facade are not subject to corrosion, easily tolerate temperature changes, which is important in the extreme continental climate of Yekaterinburg, and can be easily machined.
The company produces the same cassettes not only from aluminum, but also from steel and copper. However, the architects' plan excluded the possibility of a noble patina, the color of the facade should remain completely predictable.
The cassettes were coated with a protective and decorative powder coating - glossy gray AkzoNobel paint. And after that, the historic walls of the stadium, which were previously yellow, were repainted gray. At first, this caused dissatisfied grumbling of the townspeople, but then it turned out that it was this color that the stadium was being commissioned, and it was simply returned to its original coloristic solution.
Built-in architectural lighting is mounted on the facade. More than six thousand LEDs were hidden behind the perforation of the cassettes, which will make it possible to embody any light scenarios, project inscriptions and patterns, and not only on the walls, but also on the roof. The roof of the stadium is supported by eight pylons. It is not habitually flat, but concave, with an upper elastic membrane covering made of polymer fabric.
Almost all of the facade materials for the Yekaterinburg Arena are Russian-made, and thanks to this, the initial estimate was reduced by 79 million rubles. The Gradas plant is located in Khotkovo, in the Sergiev-Posad municipal district of the Moscow region, which allows delivery in a short time and eliminates the risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations.
