MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM ­ Special Report

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SPECIAL REPORT> MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM

By Stacey Rowan

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Named after a hero of the working class, Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium is an iconic symbol of where the city has come from and the future that it is striving towards. Just as Moses Mbheki Mncane Mabhida helped to forge the united front that eventually saw the creation of a democratic and non-racial South Africa, so will the stadium bring together countries at the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

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An exterior view of the lit up stadium, which acts as a bright beacon for the city of Durban.

“It is important to recognise that this stadium, an architectural joint venture, is a group effort. There were five local practices: Theunissen Jankowitz Durban, AmbroAfrique Consultants, Mthulusi Msimang Architects, NSM and Osmond Lange Architects & Planners and one international practice involved, namely GMP. Each practice fulfilled a different role. The local effort and local expertise, merged with the international experience, made it all happen. The effort is reflected in what was built and designed. From the urban design approach to the iconography, the stadium has a strong local representation,” says Gerhard le Roux, director, Theunissen Jankowitz.

The timeless arch represents the past and the future, where South Africans have come from and where they are going.

We traditionally revere iconic buildings for their ability to inspire and imbue symbolic associations and meaning to a broad audience because they reflect unique cultural, social and environmental contexts – be it the past, current or future. The newly constructed Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban respects these qualities and it references the past with dignity yet, it succeeds best in the way it reflects the aspirations of the current time and the future. It is strategically positioned to become an iconic beacon for the City of Durban as well as being a centre piece of the huge integrated development plan which weaves itself into the city’s landscape as a symbol of growth and prosperity. This stadium successfully achieves this through the innovative use of space, texture, colour and artifacts, whilst also drawing on its surroundings and physical features which give it a vernacular identity and character. Architectural and structural elements allow people to ‘feel alive’ within its surrounds, inviting people of all walks of life and binding them within an iconic web of space and community.

An architectural view of the arch and it’s design elements.

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Iconography

The white tensile roofing is reminiscent of the activities of the nearby harbour. The use of natural indigenous plants and trees links the precinct on an urban scale and the incorporation of the African landscape contextualises the building. The expanded steel mesh wrapping the façade and the infill panels of the balustrades is symbolic of the beauty of handmade baskets. The bare grey coolness of the off-shutter concrete is contrasted by the palette of warm colours used on infill walls and interiors – an expression of the African climate and spirit.

Tones of the beaches, the colours of clothing and handcrafted jewellery were used to express the vibrancy of the local surroundings in the building.

Brightly coloured seating, drawing its inspiration from beach sand merging into the ocean, gives the stadium bowl a sense that it is a landscape. The upper stand seating is washed in yellow and white colours, the middle seating is graded in a yellow to green colour mix with scattered light greys and whites,

An interior view of the stadium bowl façade, showcasing it’s circular form.

From a distance, the stadium’s arch is a defining silhouette, a familiar marker against the landscape.

From within, the arch forks on both sides, to create a view of Durban, a window onto the city, symbolically looking back at where the city has come from, on the one side, and the future, on the other side.

“We wanted to create a timeless long arch which represents the past and the walk into the future.

Once you are in the stadium you are aware of the surrounding environment where the stadium is located, by way of the stadium window on the south side. You can see the connection between the sea, city and the heart of Durban,” says Deon van Onselen, Director, Osmond Lange Architects & Planners (Pty) Ltd.

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A view of the iconic arch.

A view of the stadiums exterior façade and one of its may entrances.

An artist impression illustrating the arched roof structure of the stadium.

A 3D dissection of the stadium.

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and finally the lower stand seating is graded in a blue to green mix sprinkled again with light greys and whites.

Drivers of design Although stadiums are mostly venues of sheer scale, they are considered singular purpose structures. Due to the stadium’s sheer size, there was a need to ‘humanise’ the stadium in terms of scale, to allow for its integration into the city fabric and landscape.

A driver of design for the Moses Mabhida Stadium, was the need to encourage mixed use in order to promote ongoing activities. From an urban design point of view, it was of primary importance that the stadium was located within an environment that enables the broader city and surrounding area to benefit from it. Therefore, one of the key drivers was the need to design beyond the building. In order to bring extensive investment into the precinct, the stadium had to be designed accordingly in order to serve as a catalyst for continuing investment.

Heroes walk – The iconic journey A dominant path leading from the city centre to the stadium, known as Heroes walk, lends itself to a variety of processions that will be enjoyed by large groups in the future. The walk starts in the south within a fragmented landscape of harsh walls and monochromatic tones, reflecting the fragmentation of past Africa. This is the journey dedicated to the icons of sport and political change, for those who have been and for the heroes to be made within the stadium. The rigid structure of the walk becomes more organic, soft and colourfully adorned as one approaches the stadium. The Heroes Walk is designed to symbolise the journey walked by the people of Africa.

Moses Mabhida Stadium

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A ‘world-first’ achievement The Moses Mabhida Stadium has placed South Africa on the map, having obtained a ‘World first’ in the design of roof arch foundations, which involve diaphragm walling to bedrock, massive cappings and springer plinths. In addition, the stadium also achieved a ‘SouthAfrican first’ for pre-cast design and installation in stadiums and also achieved the specified strict requirements for concrete quality, durability and aesthetics.

of tiered seating with six access levels, sheer cores and stairwells and a podium. The lightweight translucent roof is supported by a steel-cable structure suspended from the arch. The remarkable 104m high arch, spanning 380m, is secured on large concrete foundations which extend down to the cretaceous bedrock. These foundations are elongated rectangular boxes with 800mm thick reinforced concrete walls, which were excavated and cast under bentonite slurry, in panel lengths of up to 7m and to a depth of 20m.

The stadium bowl structure is founded on a total of 1901 CFA piles varying in diameter from 450 to 700mm, installed to depths of 20m. “The bowl-like shape of the stadium allows for all the spectators to be able to see the action and feel that they are a part of the whole event. Normal stadiums tend to be more rectangular in shape, with Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western sides. The client wanted all people from different walks of life to become unified, to become one form within this dome-like structure,” says van Onselen.

The seats within the stadium resemble the blue ocean and its moving waves.

The main concrete structure comprises an oval bowl

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The façade of the stadium bowl is a layered integrated

The main structural unit of the roof consists of the

series of components. Over one hundred leaning pre-

104m high arch spanning 380m onto the foundations.

cast concrete columns sweep around the circumference

The roof, which defines the stadium as an iconic edifice,

of the stadium bowl forming the skeleton of the

also consists of other structural elements namely sup-

façade, creating the impression of a sculptural element

porting cables, a membrane roof, and a steel compres-

in the landscape. Adding to the sculptural quality of

sion ring resting on steel columns.

the building, aluminium fins sit vertically between each of the concrete columns and, finally, a woven mesh ties

A total of 50 main ridge cables are supported from the

the façade together. The expanded metal mesh covering

arch which defines the shape for the 46 000m2 roof

the brightly coloured façade and the filling to the rail-

coverage. These ridge cables as well as the valley cables

ings in the stadium take their inspiration from the

are connected to the compression ring that in turn,

structure of basketweave.

is supported on steel façade columns.

“An important aspect of the stadium is that it is based

Concrete – The No.1 choice

on the age old African tradition of elevating a structure above ground level, whereby the stadium is placed on a podium. By placing it on the podium, the stadium is given greater stature. The client wanted the stadium to rise up from the environment, creating an experience as visitors lead up to the entrance of the stadium,” explains van Onselen.

The roofing

Concrete was used for the majority of the structural and architectural elements because of its high quality finish, its ease of construction into complex shapes and forms, durability to resist the marine environment of Durban, its speed in construction, its low maintenance and because of the economical advantages.

The concrete façade columns are the main feature of the façade. Vertical in the vicinity of the North-South

The roof cables were pre-manufactured to the exact

spanning arch, they rake progressively outward to-

lengths required to achieve the precise geometry of

wards the East and West of the stadium, defining

the cable net structure that spans between the arch

the dramatic bowl shape. They are pre-cast concrete

and the compression ring. It was necessary to have

from level 3 to level 6 and steel from level 6 up to the

very strict specifications according to the tolerances

compression ring. Of the 102 columns, 42 are vertical

required for all support points at the interface be-

and 60 are raked at varying inclinations. The columns

tween the concrete and roof structure. In addition,

are painted white to fit in with the overall façade

the stiffness of the concrete support structure had

colour concept, with a high level of finish.

to be accurately determined.

Visitors can experience magnificent views of the stadium and the Durban City from the cable car on the arch.

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Lightning Protection & Earthing SME Lightning Protection and Earthing was proud to be associated with the celebrated Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium, in that they were contracted to install the Lightning Protection to the Stadium Structure as well as the earthing for the sub station feed. Overall, it was imperative to ensure that the installation, from the metal of the seating through to the arch over the stadium, was earthed to the exacting standards demanded by the SABS/IEC codes of practice.

Due to the commitment and dedication to the project displayed by Vusi Shabane, the team leader, and his crew, no delays or problems occurred during the course of the project. SME is currently in negotiation

A view of the interior faรงade, with its concrete finishes and structures.

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with their client, GL Events, regarding the earthing requirements for the media centres which are being erected at each stadium, in order for media visitors to be kept safe should they have the pleasure of expe-

SME, with 25 years in business, is still the only company in its field to have successfully held the coveted SABS/ISO 9001-2000 listing in Southern Africa, since 1987. As a result of this listing, as well as CIDB accreditation, and their BEE status, they have successfully undertaken contracts throughout Southern Africa, and as far as Tanzania and Madagascar, with extensive contracts in Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. Their client base is largely made up of corporate clients in the private sector, as well as large government contracts such as 2010 Stadia.

A low angle shot of the exterior faรงade.

riencing a real South African lightning storm.

Their core business of lightning protection and electrical earthing, supplemented by their large range of surge protective devices, is crucial in South Africa’s subtropical climate, which experiences some of the highest lightning activity in the world, resulting in catastrophic losses in plant, equipment and personnel.

“This stadium looks beyond 2010. It looks at the whole precinct and how this development will ‘sell’ Durban. This is one of the first opportunities that South African consultants have had to prove that we, as South Africans, can produce large scale projects.

The Moses Mabhida stadium is world class,” concludes van Onselen. <

BELOW: An exterior view of the iconic stadium lit up at night. RIGHT: A wide angle view of the Durban skyline, with the staidum beaming bright.

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