Birdair to Crown Two Brazil World Cup and Olympic Host Venues with PTFE

Construction is underway in Brazil as the country prepares to host the 2014 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Birdair through its subsidiary Taiyo Birdair do Brasil (TBB), Ltda. of São Paulo, Brazil has been awarded contracts to assist with the modernization of two event venues, and the construction of a brand new venue.

For the World Cup, several venues are undergoing extensive renovations to get the country ready for the high profile event. All together there are two new, five renovated, and five re-built stadium facilities being constructed for the World Cup event. There are many factors to consider in renovation versus new-build, including, facility requirements, time and budget constraints, site location, logistics, and historical significance. To solve the challenges of upgrading existing stadia and to comply with FIFA’s venue requirements, Birdair and TBB will assist in renovating Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte and Estádio Nacional in Brasília.

Listed as a national monument of Brazil, Estádio Mineirão was built in 1965 and will host six World Cup matches. A lightweight tensile roof will be added to the concrete upper tier of the stadium to provide shelter for 70,000 spectators. Birdair will fabricate and supply the TiO² – coated PTFE, a Teflon^®-coated woven fiberglass membrane that will make up the facility’s 141,000 square-foot tensile roofing system., which TBB will install. TiO² (titanium dioxide) is a non-toxic and flame-resistant coating applied to the fiberglass membrane that requires less maintenance due to its self-cleaning capabilities.

In addition to TBB and  Birdair, other members of the project team includes owner Secretaria de Estado de Planejamento e Gestao de Minas Gerias, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, architect BCMF Arquitetos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, engineer: ENGSERJ, Belo Horizonte, Brazil and general contractor: Consórcio Construtor Nova Arena, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Estádio Nacional, originally built in 1974 and located in Brazil’s capital, is undergoing major reconstruction for the World Cup – expanding its capacity from 42,200 to 70,042 to host seven World Cup matches. Birdair is fabricating and supplying the PTFE fiberglass membrane, clamping and hardware for the facility.  The consortium Taiyo Birdair do Brasil – Entap – Protende will be responsible for installing the entire roof steel and cable structure including the PTFE outer roof and liner membrane. The project involves building a new lower tier and retaining the upper tier with the addition of a new 920,000 square-foot double-layer suspended tensile roof.

The project team includes owner Governo do Distrito Federal, Brasília, Brazil, architect Castro Mello Arquitetos, São Paulo, Brazil and engineer ETALP –Escritório Técnico Arthur Luiz Pitta, São Paulo, Brazil. The executive design of the roof is by SBP engineers and GMP architects.

Upon completion, both Estádio Mineirão and Estádio Nacional will apply for LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The project team hopes that Estádio Nacional will be the world’s first football stadium to receive LEED Platinum certification.

“We are honored to be involved in the modernization projects of Estádio Mineirão and Estádio Nacional to help both facilities meet FIFA’s requirements with the addition of tensile structures,” says Ian Wright, Brazil projects proposal manager for Birdair. “The tensile structures will provide numerous aesthetic and functional benefits for the facilities during both the World Cup and Olympic events.”

In addition to the two stadia renovations, Birdair will fabricate and supply the tensile fabric for the roofing system to be installed by TBB at the brand new 56,000-capacity Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador.

The 20th FIFA World Cup is scheduled for June 12 to July 13, 2014, in 12 Brazil host cities. For more information, visit: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html. The 2016 Summer Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5 to August 21, 2016.

To date, Birdair has completed work on more than 85 sports facilities globally, incorporating tensile architecture into a variety of single-sport and multi-purpose stadiums and arenas. Birdair combines breakthrough technologies with unparalleled experience to create structures that meet both facility and patron requirements.

Teflon® is a registered trademark of E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, Delaware.