Allianz Arena, Munich

Architect	Pierre de Meuron & Jacques Herzog with Arup
Date Built	Opened 30 May 2005
Location	Werner-Heisenberg-Allee 25
Description
The Allianz Arena is located on the outskirts of the city of Munich and is home to two local football clubs: TSV 1860 and the world famous Bayern Munich. Designed by the Swiss Architectural practice of Herzog and Meuron in association with Arup, the stadium is wrapped in a luminous skin made up of white, diamond-shaped cushions. A closer look at the skin of the arena. Each of the cushions can be illuminated in different colours with a lighting system shown in the image below. The Allianz is routinely coloured blue when TSV are playing and red for Bayern Munich. Herzog and Meuron say of the arena that, "... Three themes define our architectural and urban concept for the world championship football stadium in Munich (the Allianz Arena): the presence of the stadium as an illuminated body that can change its appearance and is situated in an open landscape, the procession-like arrival of fans in a landscaped area and the crater-like interior of the stadium itself .... Both the shell and the structural skeleton of the stadium are designed throughout to implement these three key concerns. Hence, the main stairs along the outside of the shell follow the line of greatest slope, underscoring the procession-like approach of visitors to the stadium." ***************** Inside "Since only football will be played in the new Munich Stadium, the seating is directly adjacent to the pitch and each of the three tiers is as close as possible to the playing field. The incline increasing from bottom to top creates additional special density. As in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, spectators sit right next to where the action takes place." When these images were taken in October of 2016, the arena was in the process of installing a new grass pitch. The lighting system shown below is designed to stimulate growth since the crater-like effect described by Herzog and Meuron doesn't allow sufficient light onto the pitch. The home supporters' end of the arena provides standing terraces for the spectators. Below you can see the disability area with space for wheelchairs and seats for carers. ***************** The Bayern Munich Dressing Room After leaving their respective dressing rooms, the home and visiting teams line up on this flight of stairs and on a signal from the officials make their way down the steps. At the bottom of the steps is a short staircase leading to a motorized trap-door that rises to give the players access to the pitch. **************** The Bayern Munich Museum The illustrious history of the club along with its numerous trophies can be seen in the club's museum. ********************** The Allianz Arena Car Park Herzog and Meuron were anxious to make the approach to the arena an important part of the experience. "The car parks are laid out between the underground station and the stadium so as to create an artificial landscape for the arrival and departure of the fans. This landscape contains swathes of green that blend in with the vegetation of the surrounding Fröttmaning Heath. Meandering asphalt paths determine and shape the rhythm and flow of the throngs of visitors, somewhat like a procession." Pedestrian entrances to the car park below this wide esplanade are marked by the balloons shown below. The car park can accommodate 9,800 cars. Additionally, there are 1,200 parking spaces below the stadium, as well as 350 coach places and 130 disabled parking spaces.