Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium, also known as the African Renaissance Stadium, has been created by the German company GMP Architekten in cooperation with Louis Karol Associates and Point Architects. On 22 October, all 360 lights of this architecturally outstanding structure were turned on for the first time. And three inaugural test events have been scheduled to take place in the Stadium between 23 January and 9 March 2010.
Nicknamed the ring of fire, the Stadium is one of the main venues for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It is situated as a solitary body, embedded in Greenpoint Common at the foot of Signal Hill and is ordered respectfully into the landscaped complex. The exterior shell of the stadium was conceived as an abstract, linearly arranged membrane construction. The interior was designed in such a way that its entire focus is directed on the playing field, creating an intense and exciting atmosphere.
Perhaps its most dramatic feature is the roof which is made up of 36,000 square meters of glass and covers the Stadium seating. It hangs from 72 columns. Architect Robert Holmes from GMP Architekten says that in Cape Town you have to consider the roof of the building as the fifth facade and consider its impact on people's views.
Another feature of the stadium is the translucent metallic fabric veil that will wrap around it. This true light membrane is composed of expansive concave elements that form a cohesive flowing facade, which follows the stadium's undulating shape. The light-colored glass-fiber tissue emphasizes this effect, since its color creates a sense of depth and animation, and the translucent surface absorbs and reflects the effect of the existing daylight. At sunset, the stadium possesses a reddish glow, a blue one on a bright summer day and has a gray appearance on a stormy day in winter. Significantly, the architects have dubbed the Stadium the Diva of Cape Town, reflecting the constantly changing moods of the city in varying weather conditions.
Cape Town Stadium meets high standards of environmental protection. Water and energy efficiency measures are part of the design and, when the old Green Point Stadium was demolished to make way for the new one, 95% of the components were recycled and reused. Besides, the inward pitch of the roof and the use of the roof’s inner ring to house the 360 lights (instead of using high exterior masts) are both features that reduce the negative visual impact from outside.
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