Durban Stadium

 
Durban stadium, also known as Moses Mabhida stadium, was built for the World Championship in football in 2010. This is one of the most spectacular stadiums in the world. Its cover is a hybrid structure consisting of arch and membrane structures. It was built in only two and a half years. The building is 320 meters long and 280 meters wide, has an elliptical shape, and is 45 meters high, disregarding the arch. The stadium capacity during the World Championship was 63000, and was later reduced to 54000 seats. Stands are made out of concrete and are independent from the structure of the cover. Seats are colored in different colors in the lower part so even when all the seats are not occupied the stands do not look empty. In the higher part of the stands, the seats are colored white so they match the design of the cover.

The main feature of this stadium is a gigantic steel arch that spans over the longitudinal axis of the stadium. Its span is 340 meters and the height of 106 meters. The arch serves as a support for the membrane structure. The membranes are hanged on the arch by steel cables. The membrane cover consists of 208 individual membranes. Each one of them has a rectangular shape, with one corner above the level of the other, giving it enough double curvature. From the distance it appears that the cover is actually a folded structure made out of concrete. The PTFE membrane material was used. The membrane structure covers about 88% of the seats, or 46000 m2. On the outer side the membranes are supported by the outer compressed ring. The ring is 880 meters long and supported by 100 columns forming the façade.

Durban stadium is similar to Wembley stadium in the use of a huge arch, but the arch in Durban is bigger, making it a state of the art in arch construction. The possibility of making such a big arch is explained by the lightness of the cover structure, owing to the low self weight of the membrane. The only issue with the arch in Durban is that it is positioned in such a way that it creates a shadow on the football field during certain hours of the day. Although the arch is very high, and the shadow is diffuse, it may still interfere with the matches.

The stadium in Durban with its huge arch is so attractive that the owner is organizing a wide range of activities for visitors. One of the most popular is the ride to the top of the arch in an escalator. Such activities are crucial in providing the financial sustainability for stadiums. The cover of this stadium plays an important role in the visual identity of the structure. With its repetitive form and neutral color, it emphasizes the dominance of the arch. The whole structure of the stadium is a great example of excellent cooperation between experts in the field of architecture and structural engineering.

Excerpt from: masterbuilder

Vuk Milosevic, Nikola Cekic,
Miomir Vasov , Milos Dacic
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Nis