Column
When you’re staring down from HS 134, K-120 – ski flying terms – you have either taken a drastic wrong turn or happen to be one of the select few that in the name of sport chooses to soar in defiance of gravity to unreal heights in an effort to go the furthest, writes Eric Carson.
No leap of faith with Laticrete
With faith in nothing but a pair of thin fibreglass planks strapped to each foot, there is no real reason to get too worked up over the Laticrete Spectralock Pro Grout installation used for the tile work completed directly beneath the in-run superstructure in the public spaces. At these odds, moments before hurtling down a narrow track of ice and icy snow just prior to being unceremoniously ejected a good 120 metres across and above Oslo, Norway, it’s more than reasonable to overlook the environmentally-friendly attributes provided by the specification of Laticrete products for the in-run tile work and two other main buildings that work to support skiing events held at Holmenkollen. But for Julien de Smedt (JDS) Architects, a tile installer from Bad & Flis AS and the municipality of Oslo, the specification of products manufactured by Laticrete was the ideal fit for Holmenkollen officials determined to reach the ambitious goal of hosting the most environmentally-friendly ski championships of all time. Marketed in part as Hvit Vinter (White Winter), the ski climate and the environment were integrated throughout every phase in the planning, materials specification and execution of the NOK$1.6b (US $300m)
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Holmenkollen National Arena that mostly put a modern look and engineering spin on what has long been the sport’s most storied hillside. “For Laticrete, it’s a great thing to be involved in projects like this that we can point to and clearly see our products are well respected around the world,” says Martin Gaarud, director of Laticrete Nordic AS. “It’s a famous site for the sport, and the developers made it clear from the beginning that the goal was to be completely green. “That’s another way that Laticrete brings value to the table and always has. We can point to several projects around the world, including more than one Olympic venue, that have been specified Laticrete for immediate proof that our products meet even the most stringent requirements,” says Martin. Since it first opened in 1892, Holmenkollen has played host to many of the most historical moments in winter sports – including the politically-charged 1952 Winter Olympics that captivated a global audience with athletes from 30 countries participating in 22 events and six sports. The new Holmenkollen National Arena, still just five miles outside of Oslo’s city centre, revolves around the complicated eight-piece concrete and steel ski jump that’s been certified Hill Size 134 with a critical point of K-
120, denoting the estimated minimum distance of 120 metres that each jumper will travel. For the new Holmenkollen, JDS Architects’ plans were selected from 104 others submitted in 2008. The city of Oslo was rewarded almost a full three years later with a prodigious superstructure and world-class facility to show off to the skiing world. The modern, highly-technical Holmenkollen ski jump and spectator seating bowl has been, at certain points, built directly into the side of the mountain, and is considered by many to be an engineering marvel unlike any other of its kind. Among a host of other environmental initiatives that took place before, during and after the 2011 World Snowboarding Championships (WSC), Laticrete Nordic AS supplied the entire system of tile installation products for the two buildings that evolve around the main superstructure. Laticrete products were specified for the tile application in the public eatery inside the inrun superstructure, as well as for the floor and wall tiles of both buildings next door. The first building houses the locker rooms and showers for the athletes, while the second facility is used by WSC officials to test participants for the use of performance-enhancing substances.