Cabinda Stadium
Cabinda Stadium
Cabinda’s new football stadium was completed in time for the start of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Opened in December 2009 after a construction time of just 18 months, this arena in Angola’s north-west is equipped with everything a modern sports stadium should have: seats for 20 000 spectators and over 200 VIPs, 65 seats reserved for disabled persons and another 100 for the press, plus a restaurant. With such facilities, this stadium is certainly among those African sports venues able to compete on the international market. The US$ 80 million project was designed by Jiangsu Provincial Architectural Design & Research Institute in China. The dynamic, sweeping oval form of this stadium with its rising and falling lines plus the 26 barrel-vault membrane roof elements is a reference to the waves of the Atlantic Ocean not far away.
A lightweight roof covers the grandstand around the entire stadium. It is supported by a steel truss structure, the arms of which are linked by arching steel elements that support the roof covering. seele covertex supplied 21 000 m2 of PVDF membrane for the 26 barrel vaults.
A lightweight roof covers the grandstand around the entire stadium. It is supported by a steel truss structure, the arms of which are linked by arching steel elements that support the roof covering. seele covertex supplied 21 000 m2 of PVDF membrane for the 26 barrel vaults.
The individual, relatively large membrane elements were erected with the help of a steel boom so that they could be positioned exactly and subsequently unfolded. Sockets for the bolt fixings along the edges of the membranes simplified erection and tensioning. The membrane roof covering guarantees optimum natural lighting within the stadium. In addition, the open, delicate roof ensures a pleasant circulation of air in this hot climate and complies with the client’s requirement for openness and a “bond with nature”.
