Arena da Amazônia

Inspired by the wildlife around Manaus the key design idea was born for the envelope of the new Arena da Amazônia. Thus, the arena now reflects the technical interpretation of regular structures found in nature, like the genus of water-lilies Victoria Regia, the pattern of a perfect bird’s nest, or a basket woven from palm tree leaves. The built reality of the scheme, a diamond-shaped grid shell, is truly impressive as the associations leap out, especially at night time when the membrane is brightly illuminated. The construction work for the Manaus stadium began in 2009 in order to meet the FIFA requirements for a 2014 World Cup venue. On 9th March 2014 the first match took place under the new roof. The Arena da Amazônia hosts group stage and second stage matches of the FIFA World Cup.

The primary structure can be allocated to the group of grid shells. In particular the large opening above the playing field and the sharp bend between roof and façade created a challenge in structural engineering. The structure features articulated bearings at the root points to avoid forces of movement. In this case the static system works with only one compression ring at the inner edge of the roof and a tension ring at the outer edge. Due to the interaction the cantilever moment can be absorbed by a horizontal couple of forces. To facilitate transport and assembly the welded box sections were fabricated in modular segments. The slender components were additionally braced against bulging. At intersection points the sheet thickness of the girders has been increased to contain bursting forces. Both, roof and façade consist of a high-strength, resilient fiberglass membrane that is PTFE- coated. A secondary load bearing structure serves as a frame and supports the membrane. It comprises a diagonal structure that features slightly pre-curved, suspended stringers.