SPORT
The land was previously occupied by an oil
refinery so we installed isolat ion layers before laying the pi tch
for stadiums set by FIFA and UEFA and will host tournaments and qualification games for the 2020 European Football Championships. Being the world’s fastest stadium build was not allowed to impact on the quality of the project. With hopes of one day securing an Olympic Games for Azerbaijan, the stadium has been designed in accordance with track and field standards set by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The main stadium has achieved IAAF grade A status, while the warm-up area is IAAF grade B.
THE BUILD Tekfen Construction and Installation, sup- ported by Korea’s Heerim Architects and Planners, were awarded the design and build contract for the stadium. The brief also included façade cladding, ETFE lighting, interior aluminium glazed systems, construct- ing the complementary sports facilities, as well as infrastructure works and landscaping. A tough brief for a 24 month project. To sup- port the accelerated schedule, an advanced
The flame began its journey around Azerbaijan on 26 April
modelling approach was used: the engineer- ing team developed an automated design routine to check beam and column reinforce- ment against seismic code provisions. Precast reinforced concrete and piled raft foundations – more typical of high rise build- ings than stadiums – were used, all of which further speeded up the build. There have been a number of challenges involved in the project. “The land was pre- viously occupied by an oil refinery, so we installed isolation layers on the ground before laying the pitch,” says SIS contracts manager, Burak Ertas, who was responsible for laying the pitches. “In addition, the warm up pitch is outdoors, so we sometimes had to deal with winds of up to 60km per hour.”
OLYMPIC DREAMS
Having unsuccessfully pitched for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, could the Baku Olympic Stadium, combined with a glitch-free inaugural European Games in the summer, be what Azerbaijan needs to secure the blue riband of international sporting events? “Our main challenge is to make the most of this opportunity,” says Edwards. “With Azerbaijan set to host a F1 Grand Prix, the Islamic Solidarity Games and matches in the UEFA 2020 European Championships, a key part of the legacy of these Games is to ensure we provide young Azerbaijanis with the chance to develop the skills and experience that will help them deliver major international events in the years to come.” l
ABOUT AZERBAIJAN
Jeyran Aliyeva is one of the most successful volleyball players on the Azerbaijani national team. She is an ambassador for the European Games and features in the marketing campaign
Situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, the Republic of Azerbaijan is an oil rich state, bordered by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence in October 1991 and is the first Muslim majority democratic republic and the first Muslim majority country to have operas, theatres and modern universities. It has a high rate of economic development and literacy and a low rate of unemployment,
with the population of nine million almost equally split between urban and rural. However, a high level of migration means population growth is lower than in the rest of the world. Football is the most popular sport, although so far Azerbaijan has a relatively low performance on the international stage. Freestyle wrestling has traditionally been regarded as Azerbaijan’s national sport, and it has won 14 Olympic medals in this sport. It is one of the leading volleyball countries in the world: its national women’s team came fourth at the 2005 European Championships. Azerbaijan also has a Formula One race track and will be hosting its first Grand Prix in 2016.
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CLAD mag 2015 ISSUE 2
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