By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow
Thornton Tomasetti provided detailed design for the façade and structure of a new 52,500-seat stadium that will be home to the A.S. Roma football team. The Stadio della Roma’s modern design includes echoes of the Colosseum.
The new stadium’s fabric membrane roof was inspired by the velarium, the ancient Roman amphitheater’s awning system. The Stadio della Roma’s roof is based on the principle of a bicycle wheel. A compression ring on the outer edge is connected by radial cable trusses to two sets (upper and lower) of tension rings that surround the inner opening. The “bicycle wheel” solution is much lighter and more elegant than a traditional steel-truss system.
The ultramodern glass and metal façade of the Stadio della Roma will be wrapped in a floating screen of travertine quarried from the same region as the stone of its ancient predecessor. Each piece of stone, arranged to suggest the arches of the Colosseum, will be backed by carbon-fiber mesh and supported via an innovative aluminum fixing system that transfers the loads to a floating steel structure of piers and lintels.
Privately funded by the club, the Stadio della Roma is scheduled to be ready for the 2019 season.
Are you curious about what other projects Thornton Tomasetti is working on? Visit their website or read about them in our blog!
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