SWM invests 30 Million Euros in New Event Locations

Small Olympic Hall - Opening ceremony on Thursday, September 29th, 2011 It may seem inconspicuous from the outside, but what matters is on the inside: the new Small Olympic Hall, the official opening of which is being celebrated today. You could already imagine the brilliant architecture during the groundbreaking ceremony last Fall. Now the hall, built by Stadtwerke München (SWM), has been completed and will be handed over to Olympiapark München GmbH (OMG) for use. The hall is located underground in order to avoid disturbing the full ensemble of the heritage-protected Olympic Park. In addition, the underlying architectural concept of the park was perpetuated and a strong focus was placed on transparency and daylight as basic design elements. Dr. Florian Bieberbach, Commercial Manager of SWM had this to say: "SWM was able to continue its efforts to reorganize and expand the Olympic Park with the new Small Olympic Hall. Significant investments have already been made since SWM took over the former Olympic buildings at the beginning of 2007. The new Small Olympic Hall deserves particular mention. Here the architects of the Auer and Weber firm and the employees of SWM responsible for the construction project have built an extraordinary venue for up to 3,600 visitors. I would like to thank the planners, the SWM construction site management and the participating builders and contractors for their good work." SWM is the owner of Small Olympic Hall. SWM had taken over the Olympic Park at the beginning of 2007 within the scope of a hereditary tenancy. Since then, it has acted as the owner of the park and has cooperated closely with OMG. Here at this central location, SWM created a multi-functional venue for events, meetings, sporting events and pop concerts for up to 3,600 visitors. Together with extensive modernization measures in the "large" Olympic Hall, the range of events in Munich is thus significantly extended and the ambience and service options in the hall improved. The investment costs for the Small Olympic Hall come to approximately 30.8 million euros. They are being refinanced by leasing payments by OMG. SWM’s customers are thus not being charged for this cooperation. A Changing Olympic Park The old Small Olympic Hall was built as an annex to its big sister. Due to the most extensive modernization of the Olympic Hall since it was built, the entire area was rebuilt and could no longer be used as a venue. The concept of a new hall was born in order to create an adequate replacement. The idea to move it underground was promising in many respects: The heritage-protected ensemble of park and buildings was able to be taken into consideration, while at the same time the proximity to the existing Olympic Hall and its infrastructure was also preserved in order to be able to make use of synergy for large events. Architecture and Planning The Munich architecture firm Auer + Weber, which is as close to the Olympic Park as is possible, was responsible for the design of the new hall. Their concept captured the underlying ideas of the surrounding architecture and focused on transparency and daylight, on the combination of functionality and aesthetics, despite the underground positioning. The hall was able to accomplish this not least thanks to the lavish glazing facing toward the park. It is accessed via a conical cleft, and the topography of the park is therefore not affected. The hall itself is integrated into the landscape in its external form as a lush green hill. The plants are oriented to the needs of the surrounding Olympic Park. SWM has applied the specifications of the operator, OMG, to the design of the interior of the hall. The varying requirements of the organizers formed the central guiding principle, with these including flexible spaces that were easy to manage and the most modern infrastructure possible. The building complex thus has:             - a cash register area,             - a generous cloakroom area (coat check space for 2,900 people),             - a kiosk in the lobby, with an additional kiosk in the hall             - a catering kitchen for events,             - a pop-up cafeteria with fixed basic equipment for event employees,             - the ability to completely darken the hall,             - numerous slope points on the planned stage (max. 20 t),             - acoustics that enable the staging of both sports and music events,             - a modern data network. The lobby, with its six-meter wide staircase, is situated in front of the actual hall. It is separated from the hall by a glass wall and can therefore also be used as a separate room for up to 600 people. It is connected to the large Olympic Hall via the lobby and two escalators. From the Idea to the Hall As the infrastructure service provider for the municipality of Munich, SWM on the one hand has experience with this type of large-scale project, and on the other hand it is financially in a position to be able to shoulder a construction project of this magnitude. Since it took over the building management of the Olympic Park starting in 2007, with the consent of the city council, it has also taken over the role of the owner. In May 2009, work had started and was completed on schedule. This was not a given, since the construction site in the Olympic Park had a few surprises and challenges in store. The spatial specifications were made more difficult by the ongoing development of the Olympic Hall, Olympic Swimming Hall and the Olympic Tower via existing supply tunnels and supply lines. The drawings, which are normally available, and which list all lines and foundations, were faulty or else missing completely. Nevertheless it was possible to realize a hall that is easy to access with a handicapped-friendly design and with a direct connection to the large hall. Project Data - 42,700 m3 excavation level in pit - 2,600 tons of steel were used - 14,700 tons of concrete were used Key Figures for Building - Hall area 2,125 m2 - Lobby area (E040) 568 m2 / (E040) 295 m2 - Usable floor space 5,073 m2 - Content 56,780 m2 - Coat hangers for 2,900 people - Food area - kiosk 29 m2 / warm kitchen 75 m2 / serving cabinets 44 m2 - Pop-up cafeteria area 24.3 m2 - Elevator car 1.10 x 2.10 m; handicapped-friendly, suitable for stretchers Capacity 1000 kg/ 13 people - Escalator b=1.0 m, 35 degrees; carrying capacity 8,000 - 10,000 people (0.5 – 0.65 m/s) - Hall total height 8.72 m (suspended ceiling) - Hall parking spaces 400