Renewal of the Membrane Ceiling at the Olympic Hall in Munich

For the last forty years, the roof of the Munich Olympic Roof has borne testimony to early achievements in the design of optimized, lightweight structures. The engineering team headed by Jörg Schlaich together with the architects Behnisch + Partner and Frei Otto developed a wide range of original tensile structure solutions.

The 74.800 m² cable-net roof consists of three structurally independent parts that cover the Olympic Stadium, the Olympic Hall, and the Olympic Swimming Pool. Two additional roofs connect the three main roofs, creating a visually continuous structure.

The Olympic Hall and the Olympic Swimming Pool, as serving as indoor venues, are additionally equipped with surrounding façade structures, and insulated, suspended membrane ceilings. More than thirty years after the Munich Olympic Games, the structural capacities of these membrane ceilings are depleted.

The renewal of the suspended ceiling of the Olympic Swimming Pool was already planned and executed between 2003 and 2006. Between 2009 and 2016 the suspended ceiling of the Olympic Hall followed a similar renewal. This report documents the history of the latter: the architectural, structural, and physical requirements in ist original state, as well as the re-design and construction that was just recently finished.