SPECIAL REPORT> MBOMBELA STADIUM, NELSPRUIT
MBOMBELA STADIUM Nelspruit
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8 Firestone Street, NW 7, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. PO Box 2614, Vanderbijlpark, 1900 Tel: +27 (016) 986 8000 Fax: +27 (016) 986 8051 Financial +27 (016) 986 8050 Sales E-mail: info@clotansteel.co.za
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By Stacey Rowan
Known as Africa’s wildest stadium, with 18 structural giraffe elements and seats patterned with zebra stripes, the Mbombela Stadium is the ultimate sports venue where the ‘game’ of soccer meets the ‘game’ of Africa.
4> As one of the stadiums used in the FIFA 2010 World Cup, the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit illustrates the love of the soccer game that will be played within it. The stadium also showcases the love of Africa’s big game through its animalistic architectural design. Situated close to the world renowned Kruger Park, surrounded by numerous game lodges, it was imperative for the stadium to have some reference to the big game of Africa. As wildlife murals are not convincing, and following the belief that form follows function, the long roof cantilever design lent itself to a cable stayed roof design, which in turn required a tower, creating the giraffe icon. The giraffe towers, a key design element, provided the stadium with an African motif. The 30 metre high giraffe motifs, each with an abstract head large enough for a person to stand inside, have
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been placed around the outside edge of the stadium, facing outwards. The bodies and legs of the giraffes have been built into the concrete structure of the building, while the necks form an important part of the steel supporting structure for the roof, making the concept not only eye-catching, but also practical. “The stadium is at the doorstep of the Kruger Park game reserve, perfectly positioned so that attendance of one of the many 2010 World Cup matches can be combined with a visit to view the magnificence of Africa’s wildest animals. This was not lost on the stadium designers and the signature feature of the stadium is the abstract 18 structural giraffes, making this South Africa’s wildest football and rugby stadium. The roof supports were naturally tall and slender and crying out to be giraffes. It was one of those great synergies between function, form and structural necessity and so the
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Inox Manufacturing specialises in the design, manufacture, supply and installation of steel items required by the construction industry. We cover the full spectrum of steelwork requirements, ranging from structural steelwork to highly aesthetic architectural steelwork. Our process capabilites include working with stainless steel, aluminium, brass and mild steel. Our mission is to provide our clients with a personalised service, meeting the client's requirements within the project budget and deadline and at the highest standard of quality. Some recent projects include:
Mbombela Stadium – Galvanised Pedestrian & Motor Gates – Basil Read (R1.3M) UNISA NRB – Steel Staircases & Balustrade – G. Liviero & Son (R4.1M) The University of JHB – Balustrade – Group 5 (R1.5M) The Core – Steel Staircases, Balustrade, Cross Bracing & Signage Pylon – G. Liviero & Son (R1.4M) The Axis – Brick Bearers, Fire Escapes – Group 5 (R0.7M) Silver Star Casino – Laser Cut Steel Facades – Grinaker-Lta (R0.5M)
5> Mbombela Giraffe came to be. The seating bowl patterned like a herd of zebras enhances the association,” say Douglas Roberts, founder, R & L Architects and Mike Bell, project architect, R & L Architects.
Proudly South African Located in Mpumalanga and worth R1,07 billion, the Mbombela Stadium is the only wholly South African designed new stadium out of all the stadiums, with South African products being used as far as possible. Other stadiums which were South African designed are technically revamps and not newly built stadiums like the Mbombela Stadium. “This stadium is the only South African designed and detailed structure. The design intention was to make this an African stadium. It clearly looks, feels and is Southern African,” add Roberts and Bell.
The exterior façade of the stadium molds beautifully into its wild and plant-filled surroundings.
As the site is cradled in an arc of granite outcrops and local thorn trees, the surrounding landscape provides a ‘South African’ feel and lowveld experience. The opening between the upper edge of the seating bowl and the roof provides a gap through which the sky and surrounding granite topped hills are visible from most of the seats. The roof creates the illusion of floating with a lightness rather like an acacia tree canopy. An Acacia forest on the south has been preserved and adjoins the stadium. The main spectator approach path passes through these trees providing a ‘bushveld’ experience.
Functionality versus aesthetics With Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium having an iconic arch, Johannesburg’s Soccer City showcasing an impressive calabash façade and the Cape Town Stadium possessing an impressive roof, it was imperative for the Mbombela Stadium to have its own uniquely identifiable signature.
8> Designed for contextual relevance and functionality rather than an iconic statement and aesthetics, the Mbombela Stadium’s pleasant stadium experiences have to do with the intimate proximity to the pitch, clear sightlines and ease of access. Other elements have greater attention to detail rather than flashy décor and stoic structures.
Stadium design principles The stadium seats 40 000 spectators on three seating terraces. For a good view of a match, a spectator requires good floodlighting, proximity to the field of play and a clear view of all parts of the pitch. These are, to some extent, conflicting requirements because the closer you bring the stands to the field, the poorer the sightlines become. If you remove spectators from the pitch by having seating placed at a distance, their experience is diminished. The trick here is to find the right balance in order to achieve both proximity to the pitch and good sightlines for spectators. Basically, the sightlines at the Mbombela Stadium are excellent, enhancing spectator satisfaction. The design at all times was kept relatively simple, taking into account the locality of the structure and the skills available from the local labour force. Another major factor in keeping the stadium simple and accessible was that the arrival and general spectator circulation occurs at the mid-height level of the stadium. Spectators needing access to the lower terrace easily walk down to their seats, and spectators using the suite level and upper terrace walk up less than half the height that they would normally do at larger stadiums. “The aim of laying the arena in a simple rectangular plan form, and not in an oval shape, was to simplify the construction process and keep the budget in check. Both of the two main seating tiers link directly into continuous and generous pedestrian concourses, which in turn link with eight generous pedestrian ramps.
TOP: The theme of soccer is spread throughout the stadium with the use of soccer icon wall coverings. ABOVE: With bright colours and animalistic design elements, this is Africa’s wildest stadium.
8> In order to meet the challenging budget, MOTT McDonald in London optimised the roof design to be extremely light, setting a world standard for design weights. The roof design has won the British Overseas Expertise Award in the sport and leisure category. “The architects followed universally accepted stadium principles and used the FIFA Technical Recommendations and Requirements for the Construction or Modernisation of Football Stadia, 2000 and the ‘Guide to Safety at Sport Grounds’ (Green Guide) HMSO 1997,” say Roberts and Bell.
Construction The client, Mbombela Municipality, wanted a stadium design that could fit approximately 45 000 seats and one that was suitable to host preliminary 2010 World Cup Group stage matches. The stadium had to be FIFA compliant in terms of safety and designed according to the British Published Green Guide. It had to be constructed within the budgets provided as, unlike larger municipalities elsewhere in South Africa, this municipality did not have funds to cover extra costs over and above the initial budget.
TOP: The colourful interior creates an exciting and vibrant atmosphere. CENTRE & ABOVE: Zebra-striped seats enhance the wild animalistic feel of the stadium.
The stadium was built on a site that has an estimated 5 metre slope from end to end, which is ideal, but the ground conditions proved difficult with excessive clay necessitating expensive foundation piles. “Four legged concrete columns built at 10 metre intervals were poured incrementally around the stadium. The steel roof structure followed, assembled module by module. The pre-cast seating tiers and steps followed as the poured concrete cured. The lower tier excavated into the ground was relatively independent of the main structure and could therefore be installed according to its own ideal programme,” explain Roberts and Bell. Out of all the stadiums used for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, the Mbombela Stadium has the lowest per seat cost. The stadium can seat up to 43 500 spectators,
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An architectural giraffe stares into the South African sunset.
Each giraffe motif has a head large enough for a person to stand inside.
A fisheye view of the entire stadium, showcasing its zebra-striped seats and eight giraffes.
11 > of which 40 000 tickets are being sold for the World Cup and 3 500 are for media and VIP seats. The seats are not removable, thus the capacity will remain unchanged after the World Cup. For the spectators with wheelchairs, 196 wheelchair spaces are available. The seating in the stadium is the closest to the pitch of all the World Cup Stadiums in South Africa. In addition, 94% of the seating is under roofing, making Mbombela Stadium, along with the Cape Town Stadium, the stadiums with the most seats under roofing. The Rye grass pitch, which is 693m above sea level, has a grass surface suitable for international rugby and soccer.
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Difficulties faced & challenges overcome With a restricted budget it was imperative to stay within the limits, therefore the construction, including most components, were locally procured, manufactured and assembled. The distance from the main commercial and industrial centres required a considerable amount of transportation of prefabricated goods which was a challenge. Other challenges faced included the difficult ground conditions and the relatively small capacity of local contractors and subcontractors that were included in the project. The main contractor had to train over 400 workmen, and local residents who were seasonal fruit pickers, in various building skills. Despite a number of strikes and the collapse of
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12 > a giant crane in a major storm, resulting in the loss of numerous working days, the construction team managed to meet the contractual deadlines.
The ‘goal’ is to be ‘green’ To maintain a low carbon footprint, with the ‘goal’ of being ‘green’, the designers and the municipality did their bit to fall in line with the World Cup’s Green Goal initiative. “A low transport carbon footprint was achieved by minimising the use of overseas components as far as possible. The environmentally friendly and ecological aspects of the design include the recovery of rain water runoff from the stadium roof and recovery of the irrigation and precipitation water on the pitch via a pipe network that channels the water back to a holding tank for re-use. Much care has been taken to recover and recycle both rain and irrigation water. Another innovation is the heat recovery from the air conditioning system which in turn heats the hot water for the building.” Other green initiatives include a large solar array connected directly into the building grid. The climate of the region allows for open concourses. The six metre opening between the upper edge of the tiered seating and the roof ventilates the seating bowl on hot days and creates a feeling of openness.
Facilities available Every new stadium including Mbombela is built to FIFA’s specifications. The main players’ change rooms, located in the basement, can each accommodate 50 people. The facilities include netted warm up areas, a fully equipped gymnasium, ample lockers, hydrotherapy
An artist’s colour palette was used for the interior, with colours of red, orange, blue and green splattered throughout the interior structure.
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The 30 metre high giraffe motifs have been placed around the outside edge of the stadium, facing outwards.
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The long roof cantilever design lent itself to a cable stayed roof design, which in turn required a tower, creating the giraffe icon.
16 > baths, boot wash facilities and relaxation rooms. Elaborate press facilities are incorporated including an auditorium, with audio visual equipment for game analysis and press conferences and associated recreational spaces. Offices suitable for running the stadium and a gymnasium for public use have also been planned. The mid-level, located between the upper and lower tiers in the stadium, has a Presidential Suite with bars and dining room, public restaurant facilities and 28 public leased skyboxes. Alongside the skyboxes, five club lounges have also been built. The Presidential Suite is serviced by a lift from a drop-off point in the basement. There is also a TV studio and the venue operations centre on the Mid-level. A lecture theatre with related kitchens and a commercial gymnasium on the ground floor can be used for occasions unrelated to football or rugby games. “The site is large and will be developed in the course of time to include an athletics track, netball courts and tennis courts with accompanying facilities. It is hoped that eventually a Sports Science Centre will follow. As the public’s needs become clearer, the balance of the space (that will initially be used as FIFA entertainment areas for the world cup matches) will be retained as large entertainment areas or converted into further skyboxes or leased as commercial offices.” “Both the Mbombela Municipality, including their enthusiastic Mayor, and the Mpumulanga Provincial officials appear extremely proud of their new asset,” conclude Roberts and Bell. Danny Jordaan, head of the FIFA Local Organising Committee, has also recently said that “the Mbombela Stadium is one of the most distinctive and unique stadiums in FIFA World Cup history.” <
TOP: A simple and formal architectural design was used for the shower facilities. CENTRE: Bright colour palettes have been used for interior rooms, together with African elements. ABOVE: The locker rooms provide players with a professional space to prep and get ready for the big game.