Special bearings for the modernized Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Monument protection requires highly sophisticated bearing concepts to enable the roofing of the historical arena.

Munich, Helsinki. The historical Helsinki Olympic Stadium is subjected to fundamental modernization and roofing while preserving its visual appearance. In order to achieve this goal despite monument protection, architectural conditions, significant wind loads and high safety requirements, MAURER has developed special MSM® Uplift Spherical Bearings. They protect the new roof against uplift forces, accommodate high alternating loads and balance complex movements and rotations.

The stadium built from 1934 to 1938 was the venue of the 1952 Olympic Games. The stadium arena is considered the most beautiful in the world – it was the result from an architectural competition with the architects Yrjö Lindegren and Toivo Jäntti as the winners.

Renovation of the stadium

The stadium has been built and operated to this day by the Stadium Foundation. There has been some renovation work in the past, but its initial character has always been preserved and it is intended to ensure that it remains that way: particularly the view on the prominent spruce wood facade. In the interior, fundamental renovation has been taking place since 2017: among other things, the stadium will get a warm-up hall, a shopping mall as well as significantly extended gastronomic, technical and sanitary facilities thus making it the largest event venue for sports, culture and entertainment in Finland. The multifunctional building will offer seating for up to 36,000 spectators.

The challenge: a roof for the historical stadium

In the future, all stands are to be roofed, not just along one straight as before. Thus, the task was to fully cover the existing structure with a roof without changing the listed exterior facade. The new roof was designed as a steel skeleton structure resting on the main supports in the stands. Instead of counterweights, the crane-like cantilevers are prolonged beyond the support point and fixed at 84 bearing points on the exterior shell of the stadium, taking into consideration the required freedoms of movement.

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