The temporary seating stands on either side of the sinuous structure have now been removed and replaced by permanent floor-to-ceiling glazing running the length of the building. read more. Stars such as Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, and Arata Isozaki were brought in, while the work of then-little-known local architects like Enric Miralles was introduced on the world stage. [6], In the early Nazi Germany, local politicians of the NSDAP planned the construction of a stadium west of Munich-Riem Airport with a capacity of 60,000 to 80,000, mirroring the Reichssportfeld in Berlin. With an original capacity of 80,000, the stadium also hosted many major football matches including the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final and the UEFA Euro 1988 Final.It hosted the European Cup Finals in 1979, 1993 and 1997.Its current capacity is 69,250. The Greek Ministry of Culture called on Santiago Calatrava to transform an existing 75,000-seat open-air stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies. The birthplace of the Olympics, Athens had not hosted a modern Games for more than a century (since 1896) when it finally got another shot in 2004. German architect/engineer Frei Otto came to prominence by creating temporary tent structures, including one for the West German Pavilion at the Montreal World Exposition of 1967. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. Starting in 1911, the TSV 1860 played on the club's own field at the Grünwalder Straße in Giesing, which became the largest stadium in Munich after it was expanded to a capacity of 40,000 spectators in 1926. Otto developed parts of the roof by means of the trial-and-error principle by making larger models of the roof construction, while Andrä and Leonhardt developed the roof with a CAD program elsewhere. Three time champion Erik Gundersen of Denmark finished in fourth place with 11 points. Home    Read full article on Archdaily: AD Classics: Munich Olympic Stadium / Frei Otto & Gunther Behnisch. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. More information. View all images (3) Project Details. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Aged nine, he saw a pheasant’s feather floating in the wind and envisaged a model aircraft that could drift almost endlessly through the air. Shortly after World War I, there were first considerations to build a large stadium in Munich, as football gained popularity. © 2020 Condé Nast. Serving not only as stages for athletic dominance, but sometimes—Berlin 1936, Moscow 1980, for example—as backdrops to political ferment, Olympic buildings, parks, and monuments carry the weight of more than just the bricks and mortar (and steel and glass and high-tech plastic) that compose them. Plagued by rumors that the venues would not be completed in time, the Games ultimately went off without a hitch. Munich was the only German city with two Bundesliga clubs, which at this time always played in the top table positions and were temporarily represented in international competitions. The planning, construction and financing of the buildings were controlled by the 1967 founded Olympia-Baugesellschaft mbH Munich, which was founded by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Free State of Bavaria and the City of Munich. Architecture of the Games writes about urban planning, architecture, transportation, landscape design and the visual identity of the Olympic Games. Since 2005, it is the host of the yearly air and style snowboard event. The three square kilometer and largely undeveloped Oberwiesenfeld was selected as the centerpiece of the Olympic Games. Designed as both proud monument to, and functional arena for, the British Empire Exhibition of 1924, the stadium featured twin white concrete towers. The sweeping and transparent canopy was to symbolize the new, democratic and optimistic Germany. Still, over 5,000 athletes competed, many within Luzhniki Stadium, the largest sports complex in the country. The roofs are supported by cable net structures consisting of multiple saddle-shaped surfaces framed by edge cables and suspended from masts. Forty years later it hosted again, holding events in and around Wembley Stadium. “Of course we have to understand nature to know how far we have to go against nature. The stadium will be used again when the city hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics. [7] In 1963, in the last season before the introduction of the Bundesliga, the TSV 1860 won the league championship and therefore secured the starting place in the first league for the following season. The 1928 opened fight course on the Dantestraße did not meet the expectations of a large stadium. In February 1967, an architectural competition was again advertised, in which by the deadline of July 3, 1967, a total of 104 drafts were submitted, one of which came from the architectural firm Behnisch & Partner. When he established his own practice in 1952, from the outset he favoured projects which worked in harmony with the natural environment. The geometric precision, cutting pattern of the fabric and prefabrication process required completely new structural solutions that resulted in the first iterative computer application for such problems and (of special significance for the "High-Tech Architecture" that followed) in the renaissance of cast steel in architecture and structural engineering. Here the “tent” was fabricated from a mesh of steel cables attached to eight poles, up to 38 metres high, covered with an almost translucent polyester fabric that exactly followed the shape of the mesh. Ad Choices, Like the Games themselves, the most memorable buildings created for the international sporting stage celebrate human achievement. [6], The Grünwalder Stadion, which was destroyed in the war, offered space for 50,000 spectators after the renovation, making it the largest stadium in Munich. He had become aware of Frei Otto's tent roof construction at the World Fair in Montreal through a newspaper article. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Finally, the model was submitted on the deadline. When the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1972 Olympic Games to Munich in 1966, the city had no large sports arenas. Designed by Werner March, the Berlin Olympic Stadium embodies the severe austerity of Nazi-era architecture, setting the scene for Leni Riefenstahl’s documentary Olympia.