Baku Crystal Hall
A multifunctional hall for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
9
months of planning and construction time
Crystal by the sea: Eye-catcher at the harbour of Baku
- Multifunctional hall with an area of 135 × 100 m
- Consisting of three more or less independent supporting structures: the surrounding grandstand construction, the hall centre roof, and the outer façade construction with 20,000 m² of textile membrane covering
- The 32,000 m² façade area can be illuminated with 80,000 LED lights
- The arena is located in a critical earthquake zone and is exposed to strong winds
Site
Baku, Azerbaijan
Building contractor/client
Republic of Azerbaijan State Committee on Property Issues
Planning period
2011–2012
Service areas
Coordination of interfaces, inspection of workshop planning, object planning for civil engineering, structural engineering
Architect
GMP – von Gerkan, Marg and Partners
General contractor
Alpine Bau Germany
General planner and planning coordinator
NÜSSLI International AG
Gross floor area
31,000 m²
Gross building volume
700,000 m³
Gross floor area
13,500 m² (event arena area)
Construction
2011–2012
In May 2012, 16,000 viewers watched the Song Contest 2012 live on each of the three days of the event, and over 100 million people watched it on TV.
© Nüssli International AG (all images)
“The planning of the Baku Crystal Hall began in July 2011. Just nine months later, in April 2012, the stadium for the Eurovision Song Contest, including the extension, was completed. If something like this were to be realised in Germany, it would truly be something to behold. This was based on an architectural competition and static system sketches. In addition to the technical challenge (wind speeds > 200 km/h and Richter scale 8 earthquake), I had the responsibility of defining the construction and dimensions under extreme time pressure”.
Anton Klotzner Head of Design and Execution Planning for Infrastructure Facilities in Munich