Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium just made its debut this weekend after 39 months of construction. The multi-purpose retractable roof stadium is replacing the adjacent Georgia Dome, the home ground for the Atlanta Falcons NFL team. The retractable roof is not yet complete, but the stadium will become home to both the Atlanta Falcons and for the Atlanta United FC.
The construction of the stadium began back in 2014, and the completion was expected by 1st March 2017. The complicated retractable roof delayed the construction, and it finally opened up on August 26 this year. The design of the roof meant to replicate a bird’s wings extending was put forward by HOK and Folcaholic website writes that the retractable roof “is not 100 percent ready for primetime, but it does open and close.”
The design principal for HOK, Bill Johnson says, “I imagined a circle of light appearing over the field and growing like a spotlight, the same way the light enters the oculus of the Pantheon in Rome. From that idea grew the structure, skin, and seating bowl configuration, so all design elements supported this big idea of bringing the energy and focus to the center of the stadium through the roof’s dramatic design.”
Complete or not, the construction process is marvellous, and in this time-lapse of a minute and a half, you will see one of the most amazing sculptures rise from absolutely nothing on the ground:
The humungous stadium will fit as many as 83,000 fans at one time, and the stadium’s first match was played on the night of September 17.
Images: Mercedes-Benz Stadium