Allianz Field Stadium

Description

When Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) decided to build a new soccer specific stadium in St. Paul, they wanted to not only create an iconic new stadium, but one that would also break new ground in design and materials. Of course, the stadium had to be practical in design, too. Minnesota winters are notoriously harsh, and the MLS season begins just as winter in the area comes to a close.
The owner challenged their design team to create a façade unlike any other – one that would allow light in, as well as a view out from inside the stadium, yet still protect fans from the harsh weather. Using a material that is transparent, combined with an ingenious design and state of the art LED lighting technology, the owner’s vision was achieved.

Material
The material selected for the façade – SHEERFILL® Illuminate 28 Silver from Saint-Gobain – was the perfect fit to meet the design objectives. The dramatic design uses “driver” tubes to provide the undulating shape of the stadium takes advantage of the properties of the Illuminate 28 Silver. The material is very light - less than 1kg/m2 – with excellent tensile and tear strength. The high strength allows for less structure and support, especially compared with alternative materials that do not have reinforcement. Additionally, Illuminate 28 Silver is deployed like most other reinforced architectural membranes. Design, welding and fabrication are similar to standard SHEERFILL membranes, and Illuminate materials are used in single layers – no need for cushions or complex control systems.
Since Illuminate is made of the same basic materials as traditional SHEERFILL membranes – PTFE and fiberglass – they exhibit the same outstanding properties relative to fire performance (Class A) and an easily cleaned/rinsed surface.

Allianz Field is the first major project realized with SHEERFILL Illuminate. The result is a stadium unlike any other; one which will likely inspire others to create similar dramatic structures in the future.

Description of the environmental conditions