The design has been unveiled for a fast-track stadium being built for this year’s Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

The event will take place in May but the design and build contractor was only appointed in Auguest 2011. Alpine Bau Deutschland is general contractor for the multipurpose venue, which will accommodate 25,000 spectators. Alpine’s partners are GMP Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner and Nüssli International.

The crystal-shaped building on the peninsula near the city centre had to be designed and constructed within a period of just eight months. It is not a concert hall in the classical sense but a multi-functional indoor arena, which is intended to be a longer-term facility. Normally, event venues of comparable size, such as a football stadium, will require 4 to 5 years for design and construction, said GMP.

The building has been designed as a steel structure which consists of three independent parts – a membrane façade, the modular stadium itself and the interior roof. In order to be able to put up a building of the size of a football stadium in just a few months, design and construction proceed in parallel.

An important tool in the process has been a detailed visualisation of the entire work schedule: it covers and displays each step in chronological order in weekly sequences. 

The characteristic crystalline shape of the building and its illuminated façade are in response to Azerbaijan’s request for the creation of a widely visible and effective landmark. Dynamic lighting scenarios are being programmed for the 9,500 LED lights to highlight the membrane façade and create moods appropriate for the different stages of the events.

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