11. Jun 2018

MEDIAMESH®: Interaction of brilliance and emotion

Atlético Madrid, who play in the top Spanish league, are already looking forward to the final of next year's Champions League, as the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium has been selected as the venue for the last match in European football's most prestigious competition. The defining element above the main entrance of the stadium's west façade is a transparent MEDIAMESH® system from GKD – GEBR. KUFFERATH AG. The display, which measures almost 150 square meters in size, shows emotional snapshots to get the fans excited for the upcoming match.

Following a six-year construction period, the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium developed by Cruz y Ortiz Architects was opened in time for the start of the 2017/18 season. The spacious stadium, covering 88,000 square meters, offers seating for 68,000 spectators and meets the highest standards in terms of comfort, convenience, views, and safety. The design also provides significantly more distance between the rows, which makes it easier for spectators to access their seats, while clearly structured areas help the streams of visitors get to where they need to be. The stands have seats in the home team’s colors of red & white and stretch all the way down to the edge of the pitch. They are also almost completely shaded by the gigantic spoked-wheel roof construction with special membrane covering. This spectacular sweeping roof with integrated LED bands forms a homogeneous concept together with the light, horizontally perforated façade and the MEDIAMESH^® display from GKD. Six mesh panels, each measuring six meters high and four meters wide, produce the visually seamless screen that merges with the architecture of the distinctive west façade when not in use. The transparent stainless steel mesh incorporates integrated LED profiles employing horizontal and vertical spacing of five centimeters. When in use, it guarantees high brilliance even in the Spanish sun. Beside the virtually invisible cabling and a sophisticated substructure, the MEDIAMESH^® display also excels thanks to its robust weather resistance and maintenance-free nature. In addition to this, the heat-resistant and cold-resistant system does not require external cooling and is therefore highly economical in terms of energy consumption.