Azernews.Az

The construction of Baku Crystal Hall, which will host the Eurovision song contest in late May, is a grandiose project finished under a tight schedule, an executive of the contractor company that carried out the project told Azerbaijan`s Trend news agency in an interview.

Rainer Quenzer, planning head and design coordinator of the joint venture of Alpine Bau Deutschland AG and NUSSLI, further spoke about the details of how Baku Crystal Hall was built.

``NUSSLI received a phone call from Azerbaijan in the last days of May 2011. We were asked to construct a completely new venue for 25,000 spots within eight months,`` Quenzer said. ``Later we presented our initial concept of a modular facility, which we felt would be the only feasible option to meet the very short deadline for the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2012.``

Quenzer said their initial proposal was based on a temporary solution for the Eurovision Song Contest, which would mean that the concert hall could be moved elsewhere after the event.

``We planned to offer an arena solution, which could be reused in another location as a football stadium, while the internal roofing structure would later form two smaller indoor sport venues for gymnastics and wrestling. Our master plan was received with much enthusiasm by the State Committee for Property Issues, as there is a definite shortage of sporting venues in Azerbaijan,`` Quenzer said.

He said that before the final order was signed with the State Committee, it was decided to keep Baku Crystal Hall in its place as a permanent structure for music and sports events in the capital.

Speaking of the work NUSSLI had to undertake, Quenzer said that there were partners involved in the construction as well.

``We were asked if NUSSLI would plan and construct the hall alone, or whether a number of providers would come together for the project. Considering the tight deadlines, the potential risks, and the challenge of constructing a venue of this size in a foreign country, NUSSLI decided to bring in a team of reliable partners,`` he said.

At a meeting with the State Committee in July 2011, the project team consisting of Alpine Bau Deutschland AG was introduced in the role of general contractor, NUSSLI as their collaboration partner for general design and planning coordination and for project management support, and GMP International took on the design and architectural lead, he said.

Quenzer noted that the companies involved in construction were able to ``impress the State Committee with the sound expertise of all parties involved`` and stressed the benefits of previous experience in similar projects.

``We traveled to Baku once again, but this time with two design concepts in hand: the `Golden Curtain` and the `Baku Crystal Hall`. Our final meeting with the State Committee took place at the end of July, and the final contract was signed on August 2, 2011, two months after first contact,`` he recalls.

Speaking of the design of the venue, Quenzer said it was designed in three main elements: the NUSSLI Modular Stadium® for the seating bowl, an inner roof structure of the size of a football pitch, and a sophisticated outer shell as covering and visualization element for the event by GMP.

``These key elements were planned, prefabricated and installed simultaneously with the help of various sub-contractors,`` he said. ``So, as you can see the entire complex - which is the size of a football arena - was designed as a modular structure``.

On January 25, 2012 the final European Broadcasting Union (EBU) site inspection took place, at which all joint venture partners had to report on progress.

``Although some major elements, including the inner roof, the hospitality and VIP areas, the outer membrane facade with LED lighting and more were still under construction at that time, the EBU was very impressed with our construction schedule and the accelerating measures presented at this final meeting. The EBU Reference Group made their final decision on the strength of the information received that day: the 57th European Song Contest would definitely be held at the new Baku Crystal Hall,`` Quenzer said.

The equipment to be used during the show has already been brought to Baku. During the event, 80,000 light diodes and more than 2,500 light projectors will be used.

In May, the audience will be presented a grandiose show, different by the stage design and directing style.

The Eurovision 2012 semi-finals will be held on May 22 and May 24 and the final on May 26.