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PVC TODAY PVC ww O w.pvc NLIN .or E g creating Possibilities Together · Summer 2011 Close to the Ball: European Cup Stadium in Poland Close to the Customer: Designer Bank in Japan Close to the Photographer: Fotografiska in Stockholm Enormous Dimensions: Anish Kapoor in Paris EDITORIAL What Anish Kapoor created for the art show MONUMENTA 2011 in the Grand Palais with his World Class sculpture “Leviathan” is beyond the artistic imagination. His immense, inflated creature made of burgundy, PVC-coated membranes filled nearly the entire area of the Paris exhibition hall and The cover story on the right-hand side of the page is dedicated to a world-class work of art, the sculpture “Leviathan” by Anish Kapoor in the Grand Palais in Paris. The enormous inflated creature made of PVC-coated polyester fabric was an impressive example of the possibilities for modern textile architecture. The same holds true for Miejski Stadium which, after extensive reconstructive work, has been completed one year before the opening of the European Cup in Poland. The white cushion-like roof construction made of 52,000 square metres of transparent PES-PVC membranes is strikingly attractive. Before the start of the European football event next year, fans of the first-league team KKS Lech Poznan will have the pleasure of enjoying the dependable roof covering which protects spectators from the wind and weather. Visitors to the Sugamo Shinkin Bank in Tokyo can enjoy the beauty of PVC wall coverings and flooring. The lobby of the bank behind the layered, rainbow-coloured façade is graced with colourful adhesive PVC film in dandelion “puff” designs on the doors, walls, and ceilings which complement the natural appearance of the floors. The vinyl flooring not only offers the feel of the great outdoors, it is also recyclable and made partially from recycled material. In the Fotografiska Museum housed in a former industrial Art Nouveau-style building in Stockholm, the PVC flooring with vinyl Bolon texture harmonises with both the black-and-white and colour photography and provides the museum with its unique character. These are further examples of the versatile possibilities of PVC in modern architecture. Before you begin reading, we would like to encourage you to make suggestions about PVC topics to help us improve our magazine by showing the diverse applications of this plastic material around the world. If you have any ideas or topics that you would like us to address, we look forward to hearing from you. Werner Preusker Norbert Helminiak Helmuth Leitner Editors of PVC TODAY enchanted visitors with its rapture of red colours. “Leviathan”, Kapoor almost completely filled the immense domed exhibition hall. The name of the gigantic artwork alludes to the Biblical sea monster of the same name, as well as the treatise of the social philosopher Thomas Hobbes on the supreme power of the state. It is therefore no wonder that Kapoor dedicated his sculpture to the artist and political activist Ai Weiwei, whom Chinese authorities held under arrest for over two and a half months. MONUMENTA 2011: The sculpture “Leviathan” by Anish Kapoor was exhibited in the Grand Palais in Paris for approximately six weeks. N ear the magnificent Champs-Élysées, the Grand Palais with its domed roof made of iron and glass is an historic exhibition hall in the centre of the French metropolis. Built for the World Exposition in Paris in 1900, it offers a unique stage for artworks with a length of 200 metres and a height of up to 45 metres. This building hosted the art show MON UMENTA 2011 which the French Ministry of Culture and Communication organised for the fourth consecutive year. Following exhibitions by internationally renowned artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Richard Serra and Christian Boltanski, the British artist Anish Kapoor had the task of creating a work of art especially for the Grand Palais. With his monumental sculpture Perfect Symbiosis The special architectural structure of the building with its cross-shaped floor plan, extremely luminescent features, and the size of the hall presented numerous challenges to the Bombay-born, London-based sculptor. “My ambition is to create a space within a space that responds to the height and luminosity of the Nave at the Grand Palais”, stated the artist. Kapoor precisely adapted his colossal sculpture to the existing space available in the Grand Palais. The air-filled creature with its round flowing form consisted of a long body which extended into the nave and the two cross aisles of the building with three huge, round protrusions. With a length of almost 100 metres, approximately 35 metres in height and 72,000 metres in cubic volume, it is a true giant next to which visitors appear as tiny dots. Viewing the artwork was possible from the inside as well as from the outside of the object. In the process, visitors found themselves in two worlds which could not have been more different. Pulsating Organism The body of the artwork, which visitors entered individually through an airlock, was breathtak- IMPRINT Publisher in Germany: PVCplus Kommunikations GmbH Am Hofgarten 1-2 D-53113 Bonn Telephone: +49-2 28-23 10 05 Fax: +49-2 28-538 95 96 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.pvcplus.de Contact: Werner Preusker Publisher in Switzerland: PVCH-Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Schweizerischen PVC-Industrie c/o KVS Schachenallee 29c CH-5000 Aarau Telephone: +41-62 832 7060 Fax: +41-62 834 0061 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.pvch.ch Contact: Norbert Helminiak 2 Publisher in Europe: The European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers Avenue E Van Nieuwenhuyse 4 Box 4 B-1160 Brussels Telephone: +32-2 792 75 25 Fax: +32-2 676 7447 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ecvm.org Contact: Helmuth Leitner Total number of copies: 5,500 Created by: www.hl-dialog.de Cover picture: Sculpture “Leviathan” by Anish Kapoor in the Grand Palais in Paris Photo: PVCplus/Bettina Koch Viewed from the outside of the artwork: The size of the sculpture “Leviathan” by Anish Kapoor was revealed most clearly from this perspective. The three huge protrusions extended into the nave and the two perpendicular aisles of the cross-shaped Grand Palais. The enormous dimensions of Anish Kapoor’s “Leviathan” made observers appear like tiny dots. Whoever wanted to contemplate the impressive size of the artwork could observe its flowing form on a walking tour. of only eight days, Leviathan’s specific size and structure was an exciting challenge for our team. The singularity of the artwork has set a cutting-edge technical standard”, stated Frank Molter, CEO of Hightex. This also applied to the recyclable membranes which the French company Serge Ferrari developed especially for this model of textile architecture. The PVCcoated polyester fabric is light, sturdy, and flexible. Its organic red tone has a high density of colour, but at the same time allows light to pass through. The translucent property of the material was indispensable for the light effects inside the artwork. Interim Giant Thirty years after his first exhibition in Paris, Kapoor returned to the French capital with “Leviathan”. It was a remarkable show which broke all records – including the number of visitors. About 250,000 people went to the Grand Palais, considerably more than in the previous years for MONUMENTA. His next project is the approximately 115-metre-high sculpture “Orbit” for the Olympic Games in London. www.monumenta.com Photos: PVCplus/Bettina Koch View from the inside of the pulsating giant: The sun came through the glass roof of the Grand Palais and the burgundy membranes of Anish Kapoor’s sculpture “Leviathan”. In the process, the contours and supports of the roof were visibly cast as shadows on the PVC-coated fabric. ingly beautiful and whisked them off into an enclosed world of red colour far removed from the bustle of Paris. Through the glass roof of the building and the membranes coated with burgundy-coloured flexible PVC, daylight was transmitted into the artwork, and, depen ding on the intensity of light, illuminated the vaulted area in various shades of red for which the artist has a predilection. “Visitors will be invited to walk inside the work, to immerse themselves in colour, and it will be, I hope, a contemplative and poetic experience”, Kapoor explained about his imaginative design which was exquisitely fulfilled. Here, as in earlier installations such as Cloud Gate (2004) made of polished stainless steel in Millennium Park in Chicago, Kapoor’s work captured visitors’ imagination with its impressive use of light. While the sun was shining, the shape of the enormous iron structure of the roof was cast as a shadow, clearly visible from within the coated shell. Together with the sealed seams of PVC covering, which ran through the tex- tile fabric like veins, an electrifying spectacle emerged with continuously changing images. Visitors had the feeling of being inside a pulsating organism in this red sphere with its seemingly endless caverns, whose enormous size could hardly be grasped due to the feeling of diffused space. Each person experienced this artwork differently because, as Kapoor stated, there are no inexperienced visitors. Each observation, each view, is influenced by very personal memories, as is often the case with abstract art and sculpture. Fragmented Organism “Leviathan” made an entirely different impression from the outside of the artwork. The glowing red inside the huge body turned into a rich burgundy. But not only the world of colours was changed. The dimensions were also different since perception remained fragmentary on the outside. It was only possible for the observer to gain an overall impression of the round creature by walking around it one step at a time. In the process, new perspectives continuously emerged depending on the visitor’s location in the large hall of the Grand Palais. Whenever clouds passed by, the dark seams of the membrane helped to create images, penetrating the fabric like veins. In these huge, outward protrusions, the lines converged at a central point, but their distance could not be determined. Textile Architecture Kapoor is familiar with PVC-coated polyester membranes from other projects. The deep-red installation “Marsyas” in the Turbine Hall at the London Tate Modern Gallery from 2002 originated from this material, as well as his artwork “Melancholia” in the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Belgian city of Hornu. A leading partner for large-scale artistic projects with membrane structures was commissioned for the design and assembly of these projects as well as this most recent sculpture in Paris. For the installation, the company required 13,000 square metres of membrane which was sealed together from numerous individual pieces and weighed a total of approximately 12 tonnes. “Given a lead time of only six months and an installation and assembly time 3 Bablò Screen Partition Bablò, designed by Egidio Panzera and manufactured by Sacea, creates an airy and suggestive atmosphere that articulates the harmony of the area by means of light tones and transparency. I t is a multi-functional and sensorial element that favours and supports creativity and the demands of those who work. Made of inflatable, transparent and coloured PVC, light- weight and easy to position, it is the synthesis of dimensionality, functionality, sensoriality and playfulness. Bablò can be used as an accessory furnishing in offices as well as in stores, hotels and airports. Various Possibilities of Use Thanks to these characteristics, Bablò can be an original accessory furnishing, which can also be used outside of the office ambience and be perfectly adapted for commercial use and use in stores, hotels, preschools, art exhibits, private dwellings, night spots, airports, spas and clinics. Welcome Nest The inflatable part of Bablò slides out with a simple manoeuvre and is transformed into a welcoming nest for reading, relaxing or listening to music. The white-coated structure is made of aluminium. The inflatable, transparent and coloured PVC interior has three portholes that can be fitted with plastic shelves. www.egidiopanzera.it, www.sacea.net Swell Seating Collection With the growth of outdoor rooms and appreciation for furnishing the exterior environment, people have begun to look to large luxurious sofa seating to furnish outdoor living rooms. Richard Schultz has created the Swell Seating Collection to fill this need. Reinvention It may be more difficult to reinvent something than it is to invent it in the first place. One familiar cliché attributes invention to need, but oftentimes reinvention springs from less dire circumstances. Redesign, in particular, is driven by a generally vague impulse. Take Photos: Courtesy B&B Italia Robust, exclusive, functional: The seating furniture by Richard Schultz offers maximum resistance to weather, pollution, scratching and peeling. 4 T he Swell Seating Collection is the only largescale modular sling seating available and once again leads the market in innovation and design. The Swell Seating Collection is an impressive example of redesigning a familiar object into a newly functional form. Ideally suited for a comfortable stay in the open air: The Swell Seating Collection by Richard Schultz made of mesh coated with PVC. something old and make it appear new. Yet artists achieve reinvention and redesign over and over again and the finest artists become synonymous with their re-creations. Outdoor Furniture Richard Schultz is among iconic designers who took a familiar object and redesigned it into a newly functional form. The collection of out- door seating and tables is one of the most meaningful series on the international scene. The finishes are guaranteed to offer maximum resistance to weather, pollution, scratching and peeling. The aluminium frame makes the product both ultra-light and durable at the same time and the seats are made of mesh coated with treated PVC for outdoor use. www.richardschultz.com Photos: Courtesy Sacea The inflatable elements create an airy and suggestive atmosphere, ideal for relaxing, reading or listening to music. Lightweight, easy to position, airy: Bablò is a multi-functional and sensory element made of inflatable, transparent and colourful PVC. Fotografiska Museum Fotografiska is a new international platform for photography located in the heart of Stockholm. The museum has an exhibition space of 2,500 square metres, and features four major exhibitions per year along with 15-20 smaller exhibitions. F otografiska aims to engage and inspire a dialogue on photography via exhibitions, seminars, and courses, in addition to actively working toward the acquisition of contemporary photography for their permanent collection. Renovated Interiors The new museum is housed in a former industrial Art Nouveau-style building dating from 1906. Designed by famous Swedish architect Ferdinand Boberg, the building was used for customs’ control of goods, and is listed as a building of cultural interest. The original brick façade of the beautiful customs building is intact, while the interiors have been renovated to house the museum. In addition to the exhibition spaces, Fotografiska houses an academy, café, bar, conference rooms, museum shop, commercial gallery, and event spaces. Ideal synthesis: The vinyl flooring with its discreet patterns is the optimal platform for the black-and-white photography exhibited here. Unique Vinyl Flooring All the material and colours have been selected in keeping with the ambience agreed upon for the Museum, with the criteria that they harmonise with exhibits of both black-and-white and colour photography. The flooring was developed using a particular vinyl Bolon texture: its unique design produces discreet patterns that cannot be created using any other manufacturing method or any other material. www.fotografiska.eu Photos: Courtesy Bolon The Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm offers an exhibition space of 2,500 square metres for international photography. Sheraton Malpensa King & Roselli Architetti was commissioned to design the exteriors of this large hotel in front of Malpensa International Airport as a result of a competition-winning entry for the overall design of the building. D Changing Effects On the open side, these blocks of rooms accentuate the façade in an irregular sequence of solids and voids. The solids in turn are accentuated by a series of thick sculptural PVC black- The Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel & Conference Centre designed by King & Roselli Architetti is located in front of Malpensa International Airport. Though normally considered an item of interior design, the black-out PVC curtains were seen as an integral part of the façade from an early stage. The regularity on the mullion and tran- som grid is syncopated by the irregularity of the curtains seen through extra-clear glass. www.kingroselli.com The reflective PVC curtains mirror the external lighting conditions and create constantly changing effects. out curtains which give both depth and dynamics to the overall elevation. The folded shell alternates with the glass transparency of the enclosed volumes in which the reflective curtains mirror the external lighting conditions to produce a building that is constantly changing. Thick sculptural PVC black-out curtains are an integral part of the façade of the new Sheraton Hotel at Malpensa Airport. Photos: Santi Caleca espite its size (420m long, 64m wide, 21m high) the building was conceived as a design object. It was created because Milan is Italy’s design capital and because King & Roselli were interested in investigating the technical and architectural properties of a skin or membrane to be perceived dynamically as a façade, not only on its four sides, but also on the roof, which is visible from the access road to the airport complex. The hotel has 436 rooms, a conference centre, and a spa accessible directly from the airport. 5 Three elliptical skylights allow natural light to pour into the lobby from the third floor. The light is transmitted via clear curved glass tubes which pass through the floors and ceilings. Tokyo’s Colourful Design feel of the outdoors. “I hoped that people would come to the bank not only because they have to go to the bank, but as a place to take a break – like a public park”, Moureaux states. The vinyl flooring not only offers the feel of the great outdoors, it is also recyclable and made partially from recycled material. The planks are easily installed over existing floors with little or no surface preparation. Horizontal layers of rainbow coloured panels peek out from the façade to welcome visitors to the Shimura branch of the Sugamo Shinkin Bank in Tokyo, designed by Tokyo-based French architect Emmanuelle Moureaux. Vinyl flooring in oak and chestnut finish and adhesive coloured PVC film provide the bank with refreshing elegance. Natural light pours into all floors of the bank through the elliptical skylights. Together with the vinyl flooring, it creates a bright and friendly atmosphere. I imagined a lot of layers piled up to the sky,” explains Moureaux. “That’s why the layers at the top of the bank are in a gradation of blues, and the highest layer is a light blue like the sky in order to flow together with the sky.” Each panel is white with colour applied only to the bottom surface which is visible from below. “The site was very noisy on a big street with lots of cars and high-rise buildings,” Moureaux states. “I decided to create a building where people naturally look up to the sky.” The twelve coloured panels on the façade of the building conjure up fantastic images in purples, greens, and blues depending on the season and time of day. Upon entering the building, visitors spontaneously gaze up to see the ceiling adorned with dandelion “puff ” motifs which gently float across space, creating a sensation of lightness and providing customers with a relaxed feeling. On the third floor, three elliptical skylights allow natural light to pour into the lobby which flows via clear curved glass tubes through the floors and ceilings. The twelve colourful panels at the Shimura branch of the Sugamo Shinkin Bank in Tokyo conjure up fantastic images in purples, greens, and blues. The use of horizontal layering divides and creates space by means of colours and gives the impression of multiple floors. Dandelion “Puff” Design The walls of the bank lobby are decorated in white PVC film, while the ATM machines, doors, ceilings and walls on each floor are graced with colourful adhesive PVC film in dandelion “puff ” designs and complement the natural appearance of the flooring. The advantage of PVC film is its simple maintenance and easy replacement in the event of damage or wear. The natural motifs can also be easily altered to introduce new ideas and refreshing concepts. www.emmanuelle.jp The ATM machines, doors, ceilings and walls on each floor are graced with colourful adhesive PVC film in dandelion “puff ” designs. In addition, the vinyl flooring in wood finish offers the feel of the great outdoors. Wellness Sky The building named “Danube Flower” was built some thirty-five years ago to become a landmark on the Belgrade waterfront. It used to house an exclusive restaurant which was a segment of a larger recreational centre accessible to the public. T he project was sponsored by the communist government at that time and endorsed by the then ubiquitous president Tito, who was the first guest at the restaurant on November 22nd 1973. In many ways, the building is special because of its synthesis of architectural and structural logic. The main volume of the building, triangular in plan, is elevated some fifteen metres above the river and the ground level 6 PVC ceilings create a light and spacious atmosphere designed in a sequence of geome tric transformations and subdivisions. with the pedestrian esplanade. It is supported solely by the central core which contains two elevator shafts and a double spiral staircase. Cantilevers stretch out some twelve metres which give a feeling of levitation to the building. In addition, one more structural feature is crucial for the seamless interaction between the exterior and interior of the building. A concrete floor-slab and ceiling shell are not connected at Photos: Nacasa & Partners Bright and Friendly Atmosphere Inspired by traditional Japanese sliding screens, Moureaux makes use of horizontal layering to divide and create space through colours. This technique is evident in the colourful layering of the façade which gives the impression of height and multiple floors. The first storey of the Sugamo Shinkin Bank is furnished with ATM machines, teller windows, consultation booths, and a waiting room. The second floor houses private meeting rooms, offices and a cafeteria, while the third floor is reserved for staff use. Vinyl flooring in oak and chestnut finish provides the bright and spacious rooms with the richness of wood texture. The natural environment is enhanced by the dandelion “puff ” motifs and the open skylights for a Located at Hakwoon Park with its forests and apartment complexes, the Open Pavilion is a place to rest where people can come together in a miniature stadium-like setting. The Open Pavilion named “jung-ja” by Korean architects of Mass Studies is part of the Anyang Public Art Project in Korea. It functions as a “Public Living Room”. Open Pavilion The Open Pavilion, designed by Korean architects of Mass Studies, was constructed as part of the Anyang Public Art Project in Anyang, Korea. Nestled within the park, the Open Pavilion is a place to rest as well as a gathering place, a new kind of pavilion, named “jung-ja”. several apartment complexes. Whereas traditional pavilions are extroverted, this pavilion is introverted. It brings people together in a miniature stadium-like setting, where 70 seats, stacked on four levels, radiate from a central focal point. Though it is open to the public, the structure functions as a “Public Living Room”, encouraging intimate social interactions. Sphere-Like Structure The lower seating portion and the upper roof portion of the pavilion are integrated into a single structural system, which takes the form of an oversized chain net. Created through the repetition of steel tube arcs of various shapes and sizes, the flattened sphere-like structure is To keep out the sun and rain, the upper half of the Open Pavilion is designed with a translucent membrane roof made of PVC tarpaulin. the perimeter of the building, allowing for the continuity of the glass façade to its full extent. Photos: Ana Kostic Like Entering a Cloud Serbian 4of7 Architects have defined the Sky Wellness concept suggesting that this place should be light and spacious so that visitors get the impression of entering a cloud upon arrival. In response they have opted for reflective resin floor finishes throughout and a semitranslucent PVC stretch ceiling; both aim to expose sleek forms of training equipment in the open-plan arrangement. firm and stable. The seating area in the lower half may be conceived of as a reconfiguration of bent steel tube chairs in collective form, whose interlocking parts act as links in a chain. Between these links, hammocks are installed to accommodate seating. The upper half of the structure is designed to support a suspended translucent membrane roof to keep out the sun and rain. Geodesic Dome The large parasol on the upper half of the structure is made of PVC tarpaulin and is fixed to the steel frame by a wire. The parasol was created by draping tarpaulin panels in the form of a geodesic dome. www.massstudies.com Photos: Courtesy Kyungsub Shin T raditionally, a “jung-ja” overlooks a beautiful natural landscape, but the Hakwoon Park site, where the Open Pavilion is located, is surrounded by forests adjacent to New Spatial Expression Originally, the building was planned on a grid of 7.3m equilateral triangles which defined its organizational and structural regularity, but now with a different brief we were looking for a change. The defining moment of the new spatial expression is the PVC ceiling. Its design is a sequence of geometric transformations and subdivision applied to the original grid. As a result, approximately 390 backlit panels with a finite variation in shape and size are suspended from the triangular steel construction. http://4ofseven.com The building “Danube Flower” on the Belgrade waterfront, built some thirty-five years ago, is characterised by its triangular shape and is elevated some fifteen metres above the river. Like entering a cloud: Serbian 4of7 Architects decided on semi-translucent PVC ceilings for the Sky Wellness concept inside the “Danube Flower”. 7 The Women’s World Cup has recently come to an exciting finish, and the countdown for the next major sporting event has begun: the Men’s European Cup in Poland and the Ukraine. Miejski Stadium in Poznan was the first stadium to be completed as the venue for football matches in Poland. The white roofing membrane made Ready for the Games of PVC-coated polyester fabric is considered a symbol of the enormous reconstructed arena. Ready for the start of the European Cup 2012: Miejski Stadium in Poland. The white roof made of PVC-coated polyester fabric is a symbol of the modern structure. order to achieve this, one of the stands had to be torn down and completely rebuilt. Two additional sections of stands were raised to make room for more seats. The installation of two enormous 160-square-metre outdoor screens provides an unobstructed view of the action on the field from every section of the stadium. White-Cushion Appearance After expansion of the stadium, the venue of home team Lech Poznan received a com- plete roof covering. Now even football fans in the first row can enjoy dependable protection from the weather under the roof with a surface area of 52,000 square metres. The white, cushion-like padded structure reminds fans of the Allianz Arena in Munich, another example of the fascinating possibilities of textile architecture. The membranes in Poznan Stadium consist of PVC-coated polyester fabric and are supported by a steel framework made of more than 28,000 rods and over 16,500 joints. The membranes manufactured by Mehler Tex- The roof of the completely modernised Miejski Stadium with its cushion-like structure is reminiscent of the Allianz Arena in Munich. Crucial Test Passed Last September, the modernised stadium in Poznan passed the first stress test at the open- P Bird’s-eye view of the stadium in Poznan: An abundance of natural light is transmitted into the arena through the translucent membranes and the open space in the middle. The PVC-coated membranes of the Polish stadium rest on a steel framework and protect even the first row of seats. ing concert of the British rock artist Sting. It was a good preparation for the crowds which will pour into the stadium for the European Cup where three preliminary-round games will be played. The new football venue Miejski Stadium successfully shows that modernisation and preserving local architecture are worthwhile. Of the four European Cup stadiums in Poland, Miejski Stadium is the only one which was planned and reconstructed by Polish businesses. The results are more than impressive. http://www.mehler-texnologies.com A fascinating view after twilight: the illuminated Miejski Stadium in Poznan. P CH Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Schweizerischen PVC-Industrie Photos: Marek Kaczmarczyk, Photo stadium inside: Przemyslaw Macioch, Mehler Texnologies oland is the co-host of the European Cup 2012 and is currently building three new football stadiums in Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Gdansk. Open to the public in 1980, the Miejski Stadium in Poznan is the only one to be reconstructed in preparation for the major sporting event since it had too few seats for spectators. In the process, three requirements had to be met: the longevity of the structure, its functionality, and aesthetics to keep people fascinated. The extensive modernisation work began in 2004. The goal was the expansion of stadium capacity to 46,500 spectators which meant almost twice the number of fans. In nologies GmbH weigh only 1,350 grams per square metre. These lightweight membranes along with the enormous mechanical stability of the textile fabric provide a filigree roof structure with an extremely vibrant appearance: an example of the design possibilities offered by this material. The membranes are coated with varnish to protect them from UVrays and microbial infestation. This increases the longevity of the material, reduces its susceptibility to dirt, and facilitates cleaning. Since the membranes are translucent, they allow enough light into the stadium to create a bright and friendly atmosphere.