Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich
European Steel Construction Award 2009
With its 22,000 m2, the roof is one of the largest in Switzerland. 31 plate girders made of welded sheets are each supported by a compression and a tension strut, cantilever up to 34 m, and each carry a lighting mast up to 27 m high at their tip.
1st prize in competition
The roof supports appear to dance because they connect the different geometries of the grandstand and the roof. They are constructed as steel-concrete composite columns that are fixed at the base. The square cross-section is inclined differently and tapers and twists around its central axis towards the top. In the building area, the grandstand consists of prefabricated folded plates resting on sawtooth walls. In the other areas, the grandstand rests directly on an earth embankment. The arena is excavated 7 m into the terrain. A portion of the over 240,000 m3 of excavated material was valuable gravel of quality I and II. This material was crushed and sorted on-site, processed into concrete, and used for the in-situ concrete components of the stadium. This approach significantly reduced transport movements. The stadium received the European Steel Design Award in 2009.