Details of the multi-purpose event venue for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan have been released by von Gerken, Marg und Partner. The bold crystalline form of the building was the architectural response to the request to create a landmark, internationally recognizable icon.
The venue must be ready by May 2012 so the tight design and construction programmes have proceeded together and have informed one another. Instead of reinforced concrete, the building will have a steel superstructure for speed of assembly. Beyond this, the building is conceived as having three distinct parts: a modular stadium, the fabric façade membrane, and the interior roof. Over 9000 LEDs are being programmed to illuminate the façade setting mood and providing spectacle.
