Tele2 Arena, Stockholm

We played a central role in this development, providing project management, structural analysis and pre-construction technical studies, among other services. We also produced the basic design for the whole structure and detailed design for the steel roof and façade, generating tens of thousands of drawings for the steelwork and precast concrete. The accuracy of our work contributed significantly to the venue’s rapid construction and successful completion, while Building Information Modelling (BIM) helped coordinate design work and boost co-operation between the many consultants involved.

An initial challenge was to fit a stadium of this size into a narrow, irregularly shaped site, hemmed in by a major road, railway sidings and large hotel. The finished arena is actually larger than the site’s footprint, the floor space growing as the structure rises from its foundations and inclines outwards. With no room to store building materials, steel and concrete elements had to be positioned as soon as they were delivered, increasing logistical pressure.

Due to space and height limitations, the stadium has an asymmetric design, with a north stand that is taller and wider than the south stand. This prevented us from standardizing the steel structure on the upper levels, meaning every element had to be individually designed.

The height differences also challenged designers of the vast sliding roof. Their solution was to span the roof space with two huge primary trusses, supported on pylons. The retractable roof runs on wheels on rails along these trusses, which also support lattice girders holding up the surrounding fixed roof.

Tele2Arena was named Venue of the Year at the Stadium Business Awards 2014