adidas ARENA, World of Sports

On 13 July 2016 the Adidas Group officially laid the foundation stone for two new buildings at its headquarter in Herzogenaurach. In early 2014, the adidas Group launched an architectural competition for the expansion of its headquarters. The ARENA building – which was to be planned from scratch – would form the future main entrance to the “World of Sports”. The design created by Behnisch Architekten emerged as the winner of the competition.

Floating Buildings – Steel Construction in Motion

The new building’s ground plan measures approx. 143 m x 118 m. The ground floor sits directly on its foundations. Three upper storeys (numbers 1-3) are elevated on V-shaped supports at a height of approx. 12.5 m above ground level. A Vierendeel construction has been selected for the upper storeys so as to afford the greatest possible flexibility in terms of their potential use. This proposed construction is an 8.10 m grid of columns that entirely forgoes the use of diagonal supports or bracing walls. The ground floor is an independent steel reinforced concrete structure consisting of columns, walls and a ceiling. A green roof – which can be walked over – separates this construction from the upper storeys. The V-supports for the upper floors penetrate the ceiling of the ground floor without becoming connected to it structurally.

Werner Sobek provided structural engineering services for the building designed by Stuttgart-based architect Stefan Behnisch. The German Steel Construction Engineering Award 2020 goes to the adidas ARENA in Herzogenaurach.