A successful precision landing

Claudio Zanella (Photo 3), Overall Project Manager Execution, and Ralph Grund (Photo 2), Head of Execution on Site, on the significance of the Swiss Life Arena (Photo 1) and the challenges in construction

Zanella: I took over the project about 1.5 years ago as overall manager and rebuilt it after several personnel changes in structure and procedure. It is already my third stadium, but the Swiss Life Arena is something special among stadiums in several respects: It has no shell use, but is a pure sports palace, which is unusual for a stadium of this size. And I've never seen spectator stands so steep, something unique in Switzerland - and obviously much appreciated by the fans. We are very proud of our contribution to this "witches' cauldron"!

Grund: With the exception of the gymnasium at the Zurich Police and Justice Centre (PJZ), for which I was overall project manager, I had never had anything to do with sports buildings before, and in that respect alone it was a very exciting experience for me. The Swiss Life Arena is different from anything I've had the pleasure of building before. I remember the moment when I entered it for the first time in March: This gigantic building, at that time without grandstand seating and building services installations on the arena ceiling, reminded me of a cathedral from the Middle Ages. I have never seen such a huge enclosed space. The column-free roof is extremely imposing.

Zanella: We worked for five months on the now universally known problems with the screws in the roof structure, from December 2021 to May 2022. The handover was split in two and only delayed by four to six weeks. Anyone who knows our business can imagine the pressure and extra effort it took for the staff to make up for most of the delay and to split the handover into two phases and bring it to the finish line.

Zanella: You could list a few, for example the staggered floors between the training halls and the arena. Or the sprinkler systems in the training facility. And a central challenge was the high span of the roof. We needed special lifting equipment - the largest crawler cranes available in Switzerland - to assemble and lift the roof in three parts. The interior work with the various tenants was also challenging, especially with regard to catering and contracting.

Grund: We can claim that only HRS can build a stadium of this complexity and size with these difficulties in this time. In particular, we succeeded in landing on time for the Floorball World Cup. The basis for this was our company's experience in stadium construction: Martin and Rebecca Kull have the know-how to ask the right questions at the right moment. They knew what to expect of the team and what it could achieve. And Claudio Zanella himself has already done it twice and, with the smooth transition from his job at the Circle, has carried an incredible load, chapeau!

Zanella: Thank you! I would like to pass on my thanks to the whole team and all the companies involved: What has been achieved here in a short time, despite all the obstacles, is extraordinary - and not only an architectural prestige object, but also a contribution to the common good that encourages young people to take up sport.