Allianz Arena

With the use of ETFE-foils in the building envelope of impressive large-scale projects such as the Allianz Arena in Munich built in 2005, or the Olympic stadium and swimming pool in Beijing built for the Olympic Games in 2008, the material and construction method have once more been moved into the spotlight of the public s architectural interest. 

The 2760 rhombic ETFE-foil cushions form the stadium envelope of the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany (Fig. 6.15), measuring 74,000 m. The two-layered ETFE-foU cushions exhibit a maximum dimension between axes of approximately 4.5 by 16.5 m.The innovative form, structure and lighting of the stadium envelope irrevocably established ETFE-foils as an architecturally and constructively interesting material in structural engineering. 

Which development potentialities and application possibilities will ETFE-foil constructions offer for civil engineering and architecture in future Are the large ETFE-foil projects of recent years, like the ETFE-foil cushions of the Allianz Arena in Munich or the bubble structure of the Water Cube in Beijing, only impressive examples of a current architectural philosophy Or can the foil projects of the last few years be viewed as development steps towards the establishment of these construction methods within architecture ... 

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