Multipurpose arena on an international scale

Modern elegance and technical sophistication for 30,000 spectators: The multipurpose arena in the capital of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state was designed by Julius Berger as a venue for unique sporting events. It fulfils FIFA’s standards for World Cup qualifying matches and the IAAF’s requirements for events on a national scale. The stadium represents the first part of the Uyo Sports Park project development.

The Akwa Ibom Stadium is unique for its crescent-shaped steel beams, the impressive facade as well as for the extensive use of precast concrete units. The greatest challenge during the completion of the multipurpose arena was the planning, logistics and construction of the stadium’s facade, which measures approximately 14,000 m² and is made of prefabricated, triangular acrylic glass elements with eye-shaped openings arranged in a varying pattern. The rectangular steel frames, to which the acrylic glass elements are point-fixed, diagonally brace the crescent-shaped steel framework structure. The facade of the grandstand is also made of acrylic glass plates and can – depending on the event – be illuminated by LED flood lights from the inside.

We planned the project using Building Information Modelling (BIM) throughout. This also required a model-orientated approach to scheduling, costs and the logistics for the prefabricated components.