From epic sports matches to blasting concerts, the most impressive stadiums around the world are feats of engineering brilliance. State-of-the-art stadiums have come a long way from the days of ancient Athens and Victorian England. From humble beginnings, stadiums have become a defining feature of urban centres with advanced technology and awe-inspiring design features. We’ve compiled a wrap-up of some of the world’s most incredible stadiums below:
Bird’s Nest Stadium – Beijing, China
This stadium was designed with longevity and durability in mind with a 42,000-ton steel frame exterior structure that is said to be able to withstand a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. Built to resemble Chinese ceramics, this mega arena was constructed with advanced energy conservation design and environmental protection measures, including natural ventilation, and the entire recycling of rainwater that can be used to flush toilets, control fire or flush the runway.
Ericsson Globe – Stockholm, Sweden
With a diameter of 110 meters, an inner height of 85 meters, and a volume of 600,000 cubic meters, it stands as the world’s largest spherical structure which is made even more impressive by the fact that it was built in just two and a half years. Throughout its construction, builders used 28,000 cubic meters of concrete and 3,000,000 tons of reinforced steel that, if placed in a straight line, would stretch from Stockholm to Paris.
Sapporo Dome – Sapporo, Japan
Uniquely designed by its architects and capable of transitioning to open air so the grass receives sunlight, the stadium serves to accommodate baseball and football games. This is achieved through an incredibly innovative and climate-appropriate mobile structure. The process of transformation of a stadium to another takes five hours. The entirety of the stadium cover is a layer of glass fibre coated with Teflon to improve the rigidity and protection against the extreme climate.
FNB Stadium – Johannesburg, South Africa
The biggest stadium in Africa, FNB is meant to resemble an African pot, or “calabash”, on an open fire. The outer coating of the arena is a mosaic of fire and earth colors with a ring of lights that runs around the lower structure, simulating the fire under the calabash. Originally built in 1989, the stadium was redeveloped ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Panathinaiko Stadium – Athens, Greece
Built in 330BC, this stadium was the official venue of the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896 and is the only Olympic stadium in the world built entirely of white marble. The stadium has a parallelogram shape with an entrance on one end and spectator seats on the other three sides of the stadium and is still, to this day, the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon.
The technological innovation that has been present in the engineering of these magnificent buildings is astounding in itself. Prime Engineering is always looking to new technologies to enhance our services. To find out more about our services, contact us today.
