Team Player: Metal fabrics play a pivotal role in global stadium architecture

by Jonathan McGaha | July 30, 2012 12:00 am

Faster, higher, further. Whether it is the Olympic Games or world championships-top athletes competing for medals, trophies and titles have become a global spectacle. Woven metal fabrics have a history as a global player in the transformation of stadium architecture. Stainless steel mesh by Cambridge, Md.-based GKD Metal Fabrics has seen significant business from the sports and fitness sector over the last two decades counting dozens of installations in venues around the world.

 

Metal mesh caters to architects for expressions of modern design and leading-edge technology. Aesthetically, the shimmering surface draws visual attention and provides stadiums with dynamic interaction with daylight and environmental influences. Functionally, stainless steel mesh offers a universal range of functions for use in sporting venues:

 

• Strength and Durability: Meeting requirements of modern facilities, metal mesh is maintenance-free, resists vandalism, is non-combustible and in some cases, hurricane-proof.
• Ventilation and Protection: Metal fabric protects spectators from direct sunlight, wind or rain. At the same time, the controlled air transmission guarantees the necessary ventilation for grass surfaces and stadium tracks. Metal mesh can also be used as effective guards in hazardous areas, stairwells, balustrades or railings.
• Signage Solutions: GKD Mediamesh, a transparent communication platform made of stainless steel fabric with integrated LED profiles, visually enhances a façade and is ideal for displaying motion pictures, video sequences, live events or sophisticated graphics.
• Sculptural Appeal: Woven metal fabric can cover a variety of interior and exterior surfaces with durable elegance. The sculptural appeal of the metal fabric, available in a variety of weaves, affords architects and designers the ultimate creative outlet.

 

Soccer: Wembley Stadium, London

Stainless steel metal mesh can be seen at the legendary Wembley Stadium, the largest of the six venues hosting the London 2012 Olympic Football Tournament. Designed by Norman Foster, some 13,000 square feet of GKD Tigris stainless steel mesh partially covers the stadium’s façade.

 

Baseball: Yankee Stadium, New York

Yankee Stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the original 1923 stadium. Approximately 33,000 square feet of the stadium-both interior and exterior surfaces-were clad with GKD stainless steel woven mesh products, including Tigris, Tigris PC and Omega 1505 PC. All are made of ASI Type 316 steel and are 100 percent recyclable. Selected for ease of maintenance and extended lifetime performance, the material was applied to wall cladding, elevator wall cover panels, handrail and railing infill panels, and stair enclosures. In particular, architects and designers chose Tigris for its unique pinstripe design that is characteristic of the Yankees’ uniforms. GKD also applied its proprietary etching technique to display Yankees’ logo onto panels above elevators.

 

Basketball: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Fla.

The NBA’s Miami HEAT Group decided to create a marquee on the exterior of the American Airlines Arena that would not only draw attention to the arena itself, but also transform downtown Miami. Made from 3,400 square feet of a high-grade architectural woven stainless steel mesh fabric with interwoven LED profiles, Miami’s Mediamesh screen, patented by GKD and Köln, Germany-based ag4, provides arena visitors with unobstructed viewing from the interior and visually engaging digital media content on the exterior. At three-stories tall (42 feet high by 80 feet wide), Miami’s Mediamesh façade is four times the size of an average billboard.

 

Table Tennis/Archery: Yamuna Sports Complex, New Delhi

In summer 2010, Yamuna Sports Complex housed archery and table tennis events for the largest sporting event in the city’s history, the Commonwealth Games. The facade of the circular building, developed by Peddle Thorp Architects of Melbourne, employ 86 GKD Tigris stainless steel mesh panels to create a visually seamless shell. The mesh also provides effective sun protection for the subtropical climate reaching temperatures above 104 F.

 

Tennis: Caja Magica, Madrid

The Caja Magica was constructed as part of Madrid’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The entire 861,000-square-foot complex is enclosed in Escale 10.5 x 1.2 stainless steel spiral mesh. Architect Dominique Perrault selected various spiral mesh sizes to cater to various viewing distances. The reflective panels draw attention from the hulking construction and employ precisely defined light and air transmission to convey an outdoor feeling to the inside of the stadium.

 

Formula 1: Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China

In constructing one of the most technically complex F1 circuits in the world, designer Hermann Tilke selected building materials to meet strict aesthetic standards and maximum functionality. In GKD Tigris stainless steel mesh, he found a transparent and permeable material that, alongside the necessary fire protection regulations, complied with his sophisticated visual requirements. A total of 139,000 square feet of mesh, panels measuring up to 98 feet long and 25 feet wide, encapsulate the rear and side façades of the main terraces and the rear sides of two secondary facades.

 

Skiing: Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway

For the Holmenkollen ski jump facility in Oslo, Danish office JDS Architects specified more than 46,000 square feet of GKD Sambesi Light and PC-Sambesi metal fabric to clad the steel frame construction. The semi-transparent membrane shimmers during the day and acts as a wind filter, protecting athletes from dangerous side gusts. At night, the backlit mesh transforms the jump into a brightly lit ramp ascending skyward. The facility, now ranked as one of the top winter sports venues, hosted 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships.

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J. David Carduff is the marketing manager for Cambridge, Md.-based GKD-USA. Having spent the past 30 years in the technical metal weaving and forming business, Carduff is an expert in the benefits of woven metal mesh. For more information, visit www.gkdmetalfabrics.com[1].

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/know-your-products-team-player/

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