The previous Dreisam Stadium of SC Freiburg, built in 1954, no longer met the current requirements. Since renovation proved uneconomical, a new building was erected in the district of Brühl, close to the city’s airfield.
HPP Architects designed a rectangular roof structure with a distinctive diagonal row of columns as the outer facade. Inside, the new building is divided into a north, south, east and west stand with chamfered corners. A distribution level with integrated concessions and toilet facilities is planned between the upper and lower stands, interrupted only in the area of the fan block with standing room in the south stand. The main building is integrated into the west stand and a police station is located in the basement of the north stand.
The roof structure of the stadium is a steel truss construction with a covering of trapezoidal steel profiles. The roof closure in the direction of the playing field consists of translucent polycarbonate panels. The main trusses are arranged in a regular 8 m grid. The upper and lower chords are designed as welded hollow boxes with variable wall thicknesses.
At the rear end of the main trusses, diagonal tension columns are installed as external supports, which transfer the tension forces into the foundations and at the same time form the facade. The roof structure is stiffened by wind bracing as well as by the outer diagonal columns surrounding it, which give the stadium its distinctive appearance.
