The new, modern and climate-neutral stadium, which was opened in September 2009, is the home ground of FC Augsburg and is also used as a venue for matches of the men and women’s national football teams. With the start of the 2015/16 season, the WWK Insurance Group became the main sponsor of FC Augsburg and since then, has lent its name to the 30,600-seat WWK Arena. With its commitment to Augsburg, the insurance group decided to finance the previously uncompleted façade, thereby turning the stadium into a special highlight. The aluminium structure is wrapped around the stadium like a nest in three levels. In an irregular, Mikado stick-like arrangement, the LED fluorescent tubes are woven into the aluminium tube construction. Zumtobel took up the idea and vision of architects Bernhard & Kögl of a homogeneously luminous, oversized tube of light throughout the project and turned it into reality with the construction of the ‘light tubes’.
Zumtobel developed the entire design concept for the light façade based on state-of-the-art LED technology in close cooperation with the architects.
“It was only because of the expertise of the ‘Atelier of Light’ in various areas of special construction, lighting design and visualisation, combined with a unique network of competent, external specialists and partners that we were able to implement the development and production of this unique and impressive lighting solution in line with the architect’s vision,” said Oliver Mosselman, Project Manager in the Complex Project Management Team of the Atelier of Light at Zumtobel.
The complex façade structure is made up of a combination of aluminium and fluorescent tubes, which are interwoven with each other and thus symbolise “enveloping the opponent”. Both elements are wrapped around three levels of the stadium like Mikado sticks. Depending on the distance between the tubes, a depth is created that seem more or less dense at places, depending on where they are.
The lighting concept is enhanced by 36 Contrast 2 LED L RGB spotlights from another Zumtobel Group brand, Thorn, which are mounted on existing lighting poles around the stadium. The compact and powerful LED spotlights support the light tubes in illuminating the impressive stadium façade and serve as basic lighting for the façade structure. The spotlights also cover the entire RGB colour spectrum, meaning they not only reinforce the adjusted colour scenes but also enhance the façade structure. This accentuates the three-dimensional character of the entire construction even more clearly. The light tubes and mast lights are controlled by livebau Solutions GmbH via a DMX server so each tube and each spotlight can be controlled separately. The result is an effective interaction between façade and column luminaires, which allows the colour and intensity of the individual luminaires to be adjusted.
Prior to implementation, the “Atelier of Light” team integrated the façade lighting concept into a three-dimensional stadium model with the aid of Zumtobel’s own “HILITE” tool. The concept visualisation created with HILITE facilitates a very realistic view and evaluation of the expected lighting effect.
“Upon the final completion of the new façade, the WWK Arena gains a huge upgrade and yet another architectural highlight. The WWK Arena in Augsburg is designed as a FIFA stadium for international (country) matches and is one of the few stadiums in Germany that attracts attention with its impressive façade and creates a special atmosphere for fans,” summed up Jürgen Schrameier, Chairman of the Board of WWK.
