2022 European Handball Championship multifunctional arena/sports hall
Builder: KKBK
Contractor: Market Építő Ltd.
Client / Architect: Középülettervező Zrt.
Location: Budapest, Népliget
Years: 2019-21
57,778 m2, 20,022 spectators
Project subject: Designing the structurally reinforced concrete parts of the building at the design level, as well as the structural design and fabrication of the external escape stairs.
The building is the largest indoor multipurpose hall in Europe and the biggest project in Hungary country in 2020. The designs were prepared by a studio led by György Skardelli, with the involvement of several sub-designers. Design and construction proceeded in parallel (Design & Build) on a very tight schedule, as the building is due to be handed over at the end of 2021. Thanks to the excellent and dedicated teamwork, the construction was completed on time despite the protracted pandemic situation.
The figures are impressive: 62,905 m3 of reinforced concrete structure, 5,000 tons of steel structure.
The two axes of the building, which has an oval shape, have the following dimensions at the entrance level: 135 x 163 m. The roof structure covering the hall space has the following axes: 113 x 143 m.
The short timeframe and the complex geometry of the design and implementation have enhanced the role of prefabrication technologies and BIM. Ongoing technical and economic analyses led to the development of optimal structural solutions, which required a great deal of consultation and creativity on the part of both the designers and the contractor. The Revit model and the resulting drawings served as the basis, and the resulting production drawings and detail models were also incorporated into the same system.
In all cases, we had to go beyond the design level originally planned for LOD300 and model the elements and connections at LOD400 level, as in many cases we had to work with millimetre-level precision due to the prefabrication.
The building is of mixed construction, partly monolithic reinforced concrete and, as far as possible (45%), precast reinforced concrete and steel. The prefabricated elements include, among others, tilted columns, beams, stair elements, and prestressed lintel beams. The use of Peikko technology has proved to be advantageous at several points of the structure (DELTABEAM beams, PCs steel brackets, column bolts, bolted connection fittings and reinforcing steel inserts…). Mobile stands can be created inside the arena. The wall behind the mobile grandstand, which delimits the court, is a 40 cm thick monolithic reinforced concrete ring wall made of prefabricated precast concrete blocks. The built-in trusses, with a load capacity of almost 500 tonnes, allow for horizontal displacements of up to 10 cm at the support nodes due to deformation of the roof structure, wind loads, thermal loads, and earthquakes.
