The age of modular construction

The major events world is turning to expertise in demountable constructions to address the burning issue of sustainability

Our quality of life depends upon how we treat scarce resources. This is a principle our ancestors followed almost instinctively, taking only as much from nature as one could eat, and possessing only as much as one could carry. For temporary structures specialists NUSSLI, this old philosophy forms the basis of a corporate policy. Rainer Quenzer, Managing Director of NUSSLI International says: “Along the lines of the economic and ecological principle, we build demountable or relocatable sports facilities that can be adapted to meet changing demands as they arise and can also be fully dismantled again if it makes sense to do so.”

Rendering of the seating layout for the extension of Durban Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The area in red shows the extention on the third tier

In the past, the organisers of major world events focused primarily on satisfying the demands of the event itself. But after the last medals were awarded and the athletes departed, questions arose as to the future of the structures created. The history of sports is littered with cities that are grappling with debt from major sporting events. It was not uncommon for huge venues to swallow up millions in maintenance over a 30- to 40-year time span.

Now, an alternative is rising in popularity: a sustainable solution that allows stadiums to temporarily grow and shrink again, yielding a critical cost advantage. The material deployed can be re-used for another project or relocated to another location with another functionality. For example, a speed skating oval can be turned into an exhibition hall or a tennis centre. In pursuing this course the most stringent safety standards are upheld and the temporary stadium matches up to a permanent one in every respect.

The modular stadium
When a successful team’s efforts are rewarded by promotion to a higher division, this means accommodating more spectators in their stadium. The investment involved in permanently expanding an existing arena is often so high that the club has a tough time raising the money. A modular expansion is easier, costs much less and, should the club be relegated at any time, the expansion can be dismantled.

The scenario is similar for stadiums serving as the venue for a major event such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Modular stadium construction on a very large scale is currently underway in South Africa, where the country’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup exemplify the principle of balance between event and re-use, which is enjoying FIFA’s support for the first time.

“We were contracted by the host cities of Durban and Cape Town to create concepts to temporarily extend the seating capacity for their World Cup venues,” says Rainer Quenzer. The demountable extension in Cape Town is from 52,000 to 65,000 seats; for Durban the extension is up to 70,000 seats from 54,000.

“It was once of the wishes of FIFA and the host cities to make sure that the extension has the same look and feel as the legacy stadium so that spectators wouldn’t feel that they were out on a limb.”

Also relating to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, NUSSLI was contracted by the Local Organising Committee of the FIFA World Cup for the overlay planning, detailing of the technical and performance specifications, supporting the procurement process, evaluating the service providers and for the supervision of the installation at the four Confederations Cup stadiums in October 2008. For nine months in total, the company was acting as the principle agent on behalf of the Organising Committee in the particular areas of the temporary upgrade in order to make the stadiums of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg, and Bloemfontein FIFA-compliant. NUSSLI was supporting the service providers for the maintenance of the installations during the event and managed dismantling afterwards.

NUSSLI has now been contracted to provide the same service for all 10 World Cup stadiums. “To make the stadiums FIFA-compliant, there are a lot of additional structures that need to be added. This upgrade includes adding an outer security fence, ticketing centres, accreditation centres – and all the media operations, in total 40 commodities and technical areas. This includes the stadium media centre, the media tribune, an interview area for players, the broadcast compound, and others. We are also planning all the temporary installations for FIFA and the Organising Committee’s operations within the stadium.”

Although the ability to build large-scale, temporary sports facilities or upgrades in a fast, cost-effective way has reached full maturity, its uptake is still blossoming. A new awareness is growing of the financial responsibility towards the countries and cities hosting major sports events in future. This trend is likely to peak at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where only construction concepts lending themselves to fast and easy dismantling or sensible re-use after the Games will stand a chance. New thinking will govern the responsible planning and implementation of the world sporting events of the future.

For more information visit www.nussli.com