Discussion: The Fascination of Stadiums - Architecture and Commerce
Detail: What is it that fascinates you so much about the construction of stadiums? Volkwin Marg: Stadiums are the largest places of public assembly that exist. They're also a mirror of society. For me as an architect, it presents a special challenge to design spaces of this kind, keeping a finger on the pulse of society and being able to apply the boldest, most advanced forms of construction at the same time. That's absolutely fascinating. Detail: And what do you discover about society in the process? Marg: The complete dictatorship of commerce and consumption comes out very clearly in the construction of stadiums. Football, for example, is a totally commercialized sport for a class society - the common people at the bottom on plastic seats and the VIPs on upholstered chairs in their boxes. The spectators are not even sifted according to their income, but according to their consumer behaviour. Turbocapitalism scrutinizes people before sorting them into groups in order to bid for their attention in quite specific ways. Detail: The design of a stadium has a lot to do with structural thinking, and the whole has to be lent a significant image. Marg: It's a matter of finding a balance. For me, architecture is a synthesis of three forms of aesthetic: the purely functional aesthetic; the aesthetic of construction (how do I design an ingenious yet logical form that matches the function?); and thirdly, the aesthetic of signification: how can I indicate the content and the genius loci with the things I construct in a functionally and constructionally optimum manner? Only when a harmonious synthesis is achieved between these three aspects will the architecture be good. That's why no two of our stadiums look alike. Detail: In the construction of large arenas, structural engineers play a decisive role, too. How is your collaboration with them? Marg: Designing mutually with the engineers, with an office like sbp (Schlaich Bergermann und Partner), is normal practice for us. Architecture is always the outcome of finding and determining forms; and as far as the structure and construction are concerned, engineers who design well are always good at finding forms. In the context of staging or presenting an object, however, some sort of significance will be sought for which architectural expression is needed. The process of finding forms has to be combined with that of determining forms - in other words, the expression of content and genius loci. In our teams, no one asks who was responsible for a particular idea. That motivates our engineering colleagues, and it makes us think in very structural terms all over again. Detail: How many stadiums have you and your teams designed so far? Marg: We've designed more than 60, but we've actually built a good dozen. It all began really with the conversion of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. After we won the competition, the stadiums in Frankfurt and Cologne followed. For the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, we were again successful with three stadiums, and for 2014 in Brazil, we're involved with the arenas in Brasilia and Manaus. For the European Football Championships this summer, we planned Warsaw and Kiev. But in addition to these major events, we were responsible for various stadiums in other countries. I'm particularly proud of the Romanian National Arena in Bucharest, which we realized at the same time. It resembles a modern Colosseum. Its proportions have a classical harmony. This completely enclosable stadium is also particularly economical. Detail: Every one of the stadiums you've mentioned has its own individual face. What is special about Warsaw? Marg: The Poles applied their common national pride to present a stadium for the European Championships that self-confidently proclaims: "Look! This is the new Poland." It was meant to be a serene structure, also with a roof that could be completely closed. At the same time, superlatives were expected. The membrane roof is capable of bearing a total snow load of 800 tonnes in a closed state. Like a radiant crown - in the national colours of red and white - the new arena rises above the earth embankments of the old stands across the Vistula opposite the city centre. It also stands on historic ground - on precisely the spot where the Poles piled up the debris from the destruction of the historic city by German bombers - a heap of rubble that followed the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Detail: How do you handle the history? Marg: We didn't touch the existing ruined stadium. We didn't want to dig out gas masks, helmets and other relics. We wanted to leave history in peace. The old stadium dating from the 1940s and 50s thus became the plinth on which our new structure was placed. Detail: Weren't the Poles sensitive to the fact that of all people, German architects were building the new national stadium? Marg: Of course there were reservations. We selected a Polish partner office, JSK Architects, and willingly accepted the fact that they were always mentioned first in Poland among those responsible for the design. The planning was done by us in Berlin. We also took care of the quality control in Warsaw. Our Polish partners were responsible for the local execution and site management. They also planned additions where these were necessary. Detail: And in Kiev? Marg: There we had a so-called "architectural adapter", with the Ukrainian office acting as our local representative. We shared the fee half and half. The collaboration was excellent. Detail: On 1 July, a few hundred million people watched the TV transmission of the final of the European Championships from the Kiev Olympic Stadium, which you designed. What sort of feeling was that for you? Marg: Oh, the stadium as such hardly makes itself felt on television. Every minute of the transmission is shared between the stations and the organizers according to commercial criteria. You're meant to keep your eyes on the ball and on the advertising at the same time. A pan of the camera into the stadium would be lost advertising time. Detail: Is that why the coloration of the seating is designed the way it is - so that empty rows look animated, too? Marg: That's an additional effect. We used various blue and yellow tones for the seats - in the national colours of Ukraine. From that, we created a kind of camouflage. When people enter the stadium, there's a process of constant change. Different coloured points - red, green and black - are added to the blue and yellow ones, so that it's not easy to see how empty or full the rows of seats are. We thought out the system for the World Championships in South Africa in 2010. Any assistant in the office who wanted to could set coloured pixels on the computer like an Impressionist painter. It's the compositional technique referred to as "pointillism". Detail: The most striking feature about the Kiev stadium is the roof, which resembles a sky full of stars. How did that come about? Marg: Originally, we wanted to design an entirely transparent roof, using a clear mesh foil. But this material kept tearing during loading tests, so we finally decided to use a conventional membrane spanned over transparent light domes. The dark areas in the membrane that form the grid of stars, are caused by overlaying a double membrane which follows precisely the distribution of forces of the fixings. The design skill lay in defining the right technical conditions for assembly, creating a constructional aesthetic that is self-evident while also offering various interpretations. When people now say they have the feeling of sitting beneath a sky full of stars, then I'm very pleased. But they could equally say, "I'm like a beetle sitting under sunflowers. Detail: You don't regret being unable to implement your original idea of a completely transparent roof? Marg: No, I don't regret it, especially because we shall soon realize a stadium with a transparent roof - in Polish Chorzów, where we are using transparent three-layer sheeting. Detail: Is sunshading not a problem for a dissolved roof in view of the very hot climate in summer here in Kiev? Marg: Sporting events have long taken their leave of daylight. Daylight can't be manipulated. Events are now dominated by artificial light and therefore take place at dusk and in the evening. The same applies to shopping centres and trade-fair structures. Detail: Why did you want a transparent roof, then, if everything's likely to take place under conditions of darkness? Marg: Because of the heavens by day, but above all because of the effect on the outside. At night, there's a tremendous concentration of light here, so that when this stadium is in operation, it radiates so strongly into the sky that it can be see from afar - almost as if an UFO had landed with creatures from outer space. There's something fascinating about it. Detail: Let's consider the local situation and what it actually means to build in Ukraine. Marg: The chaotic structures in this country and the constantly changing discussion partners were not simple for us. On the client's side, we rarely had a proper representative with whom to deal. Our discussion partners changed; no decisions were made; or a new minister bustled around, and decisions that had already been made were changed at random. Another problem was a building economy that was improvised chaotically. Technologically, Ukraine is a highly developed country really, with an advanced steel industry. It wasn't a lack of ability, but of coordination. This chaos was most blatantly felt in the field of working safety. In Kiev, there were unfortunately more site accidents than with all three of our African stadiums put together. Detail: And then you find yourself between various political stools? Marg: Of course one quickly falls between stools as an architect. We were awarded our contract for the stadium in Kiev at the time of the Orange Revolution. We built it during the government of Yulia Tymoshenko. Later, the government changed, and we had to come to terms with the next oligarchy. The finished stadium was inaugurated by the new ruler, Viktor Yanukovych. But architecture is a public, political process that usually has a history extending over decades, sometimes a century or more. It can happen, as in our case, that one begins with a pro-Western oligarchy that observes parliamentary rules for at least part of the time, only to have to deal later with a Mafia-like economic system that does not recognize our rule of law. It's quite possible, though, that in another half year everything will change completely again. Detail: In Germany, in the period leading up to the European Football Championship, there was not just talk of boycotting the games in Ukraine. The question was also raised to what extent an architect may build for dictatorial systems. You and your office not only designed the Olympic Stadium here in Kiev; last spring, you also completed the hall for the Eurovision Song Contest. You're very active in China as well. Marg: In addition to various sports stadiums in China, we've built a number of opera houses and theatres as well as three museums, one of them at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. We have been heftily criticized for that - by the same people who import masses of goods from China or do other business there without the slightest compunction. That's a bit schizophrenic, I think. Otherwise, I'm convinced that one simply strengthens the powers that be through isolation. Hitherto, almost every political opening in an oppressive country has been achieved through trade, tourism and modern communication technology. Complete isolation is scarcely possible any more. The more exchange there is - in sport and culture - the more difficult it becomes for the powers that be to confine the population in a dictatorial manner. We saw that with German division, where a readiness to talk and make exchanges ultimately led to an opening and to the overthrow of the GDR regime. Detail: Thank you for this interview.
