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Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa

1. Introduction

As one of five newly-built stadia for the Soccer World Cup 2010 in South Africa, the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban is certainly the one with the most spectacular effect on visitors. The impressive bowl is covered by an unconventional roof consisting of a steel arch which is stabilized by the cable structure and the membrane cover. Light and yet dominating the arch spans the pitch. 

PFEIFER was responsible for the construction of the whole roof structure. Combining a steel structure with a lightweight cable net, as it has been done in Durban, is quite unusual for such a wide-span structure. Thus the responsible structural engineers, fabrication managers and installation experts of PFEIFER were faced with the challenge of having to overcome exceptional difficulties. The stadium roof of Durban can rightly be considered one of the most demanding steel structures of the world in recent times.

2. The Project

2.1 Overview in figures

The Moses Mabhida Stadium will offer 75,000 seats on three tiers during the Soccer World Cup 2010. Once the final whistle has been blown, the capacity can be variably adjusted to between 50,000 and 75,000 seats using temporary seating. Parking decks will supply 10,000 spaces for the spectators. The VIP-area with separate entrance and VIP-club comprises 150 boxes. The whole stadium complex was built mainly as an in-situ-concrete structure using altogether 80,000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete.

The Stadium Roof in Figures:

Covered area:42.000 m2
Perimeter of the Compression Ring:830 m
Span of the Arch:350 m
The Arch:2,700 tons of steel
Temporary structures:1,200 tons of steel
The Compression Ring:2,800 tons of steel
Cable Structure:18,000 m cables, 150 tons of castings
Membrane:48,000 m2 PTFE-glass fiber
Cladding:10,000 m2 aluminum sandwich panels

2.2 The Roof Structure

The roof of the Moses Mabhida Stadium is an atypical steel-cable structure. The most telling example for its uniqueness, the arch, is not self-supporting and has to be stabilized by the cable structure. In doing so, the cable structure together with the integrated steel compression ring along the outer edge seems like a wheel-and-spoke system. 

 

The compression ring represents the “rim”, the radially arranged cables serve as “spokes” and the cables arranged in an annular manner represent the “hub”. These wheel-and-spoke systems, which are often employed in stadium construction, are highly pre-tensioned and basically self-supporting.

The Moses Mabhida stadium represents a special variation of this type of construction for here the cable structure is additionally suspended from the arch in order to stabilize the latter. Upward suspension towards the arch and front ridge cables, one of the specific features of this cable structure, also caused the radial cables to fan out the way they were supposed to. Fanning out of the radial cables was necessary for the construction of the membrane, because thus the resulting ridge and valley cables made for a load-bearing membrane area and a drainable roof area.

2.3 Installation of the Steel Arch

The exceptionally complicated installation of the steel arch began in April of 2008, when the first 4 elements of the “Spliced Arch“, the half of the arch which is separated in two parts, were lifted above the bowl. Even this first lifting operation of 200 t individual weights was a big challenge. Adjustment of the geometry of these 4 elements was the key for the perfect accuracy of fit of the last element. 

For the further process of the installation nothing was left to chance, and after attachment of each new element (altogether 56 elements and 6 rungs) the respective geometry was evaluated via measurements in a 3D-CAD system and necessary corrections were initiated. The most important auxiliary structures for the installation process were 3 temporary steel towers, which were dismantled after construction of the steel arch was finished.

Because of the arch being such a filigree structure, certain installation steps could only be carried out under low wind loads. Installation of the elements after the 3 auxiliary towers in particular was very difficult due to the fact that specific “wind windows” needed to be adhered to. Wind forecasts had to come up with a 99% likelihood of wind speeds below 10 m/s, only then could the starting signal for the relevant steps be given. Because of the fact that the stadium is only some 500 m away from the Indian Ocean, conditions proved accordingly difficult and repeatedly waiting times were unavoidable. The key stone of the 2,700 t steel arch was finally inserted on 13th January 2009 at 3.45 pm local time – and it was a perfect fit.

The arch can be ascended via stairs from all sides; a cable car takes visitors to the top of the arch from the north. A glass-enclosed look-out platform at the arch’s zenith forms the skycar’s terminus.

3. Perspective

With the roof to Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban completed, a unique structure has been created. The stadium is certain to act as a crowd puller for the building sponsors, the Ethekwini Municipality, long after the final whistle has been blown to the World Cup 2010. Already in 2009, the roof took top honors at the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction’s 2009 Steel Awards.

 

With the reliable execution of the stadium roof project in Durban, PFEIFER has made a name for themselves also as general contractors for the construction of such most demanding special structures. For future competitions and games, light cable structures spanning large distances will continue to be much in demand all across the world. Building sponsors and operators are looking more and more for tailor-made special architectural and structural solutions in order to stand out against other competing venues. The stadium in Durban fulfils this specific purpose in an exemplary manner.

4. Parties Involved in Construction

Client: Ethekwini Municipality (City of Durban), South Africa
General Contractor: WBHO / Group 5 / Pandev Joint Venture, Durban, South Africa General Contractor Roof: Pfeifer Seil- und Hebetechnik GmbH, Memmingen, Germany
Planning: gmp Architekten – von Gerkan, Marg und Partner, Hamburg, Germany
Engineers: sbp gmbh Schlaich Bergermann & Partner, Stuttgart, Germany