the complete Case History

World Basketball Championship
Saitama Super Arena
IN SHORT
Saitama Super Arena
Inauguration: 2000
Project: Dan Meis, Ellerbe Becket
Associated architect: Nikken
Sekkei
Spectators: From 9,000 to 37,000
JAPAN
Can a building be an arena, and at the same time, a stadium and a concert hall? The Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo,
attained never met before levels of flexibility and functionality due to a modern system of moving blocks. In 2006, it
hosted the World Basketball Championship , which was played on a Mondo surface.
An intelligent arena
The idea of creating mobile architecture, where components can be enlarged according to the needs of the user, was an argument of discussion in
Japan from the '60s, Kisho Kurokawa proposed his theory of metabolism, in which the integrated parts or components in an overall urban or
arquitecónico could change in a structured system and expand. From those ideas the project was born. The work of the architect and designer Dan
Meis and Ellerbe Becket, led to the construction of the Saitama Super Arena, a multi-functional area that combines three buildings into one and
that stretches the limit on flexibility, with walls, ceilings, seats, and floors that move. The structure, has a gigantic moving section of seats that
expands or contracts according to the events that the arena will host. In a few minutes it can be transformed from a stadium accommodating up to
37.000 people, into a auditorium with a capacity for 20,000 spectators or into a concert hall with a capacity of 6,000 seats. This super arena project
won the prestigious Business Week/Architectural Record Award for achieving measurable business and organizational goals through the use of
design.
A block system
The feature that makes the building possible to modify is the block system, that allows the gigantic structure, weighing 15,000 tons and 41 m high,
to move a distance of 70 m horizontally, taking with it approx. 9,000 seats and numerous facilities, including toilets. The block system provides the
designers with a great variety of layout options with space and seating. The central space is suitable for concerts or trade shows, The installation of
artificial turf over the field makes the Saitama Super Arena the first sports venue in Japan equipped especially for American Football. The Arena is
the ideal venue for indoor sports such as basketball, tennis, gymnastics, and boxing. In addition it is ideal for a variety of musical events with
perfect acoustics. Finally, there is a common space, an area with natural light from outside that provides an open space for various events, from
festivals to flea markets. For every event the Saitama Super Arena provides the ideal layout and its design allows it to host simultaneous events.
FIBA 2006 Basketball World Championship
The Saitama Super Arena in 2006 housed the semi-finals and finals of the FIBA Basketball World Championship, the most prestigious FIBA event
held in Japan that year. To equip the arena with the best flooring for such an important event, the organizers of the world championship referred to
Mondo. In addition to installing a Fast Break System 2 Wood flooring, an approved removable wooden sports flooring of modular tiles, designed
specifically for high-level competitions, Mondo also supplied the electronic scoreboards Pegasus and the four faces & four luminous board frames.
The World Championship was won by Spain who won all nine matches, including the final match against Greece. The Bronze medal went to the
United States.
Focus
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Focus
PEOPLE - ARCHITECTS Nikken Sekkei
The company Nikken Sekkei, that gathers architects, engineers and planners, is the greatest Japanese company of design
>>read profile
PEOPLE - ARCHITECTS Dan Meis
an American architect best known for designing Sports, Entertainment, and Exhibition centers
>>read profile
PEOPLE - ARCHITECTS Ellerbe Becket
Ellerbe Becket is one of the most famous architecture and design firms in the world
>>read profile
Fast Break System 2 Wood
Fast Break System 2 Wood is a removable wooden floor made with a modular plate, specifically designed for high-level sports competitions. This
flooring, approved by FIBA LEVEL 1, can satisfy even the most demanding athletes while optimizing, the sport requirements, techniques and
comfort requirements for the competitions. The interlocking plates system of the "male-female" type is made more effective by the innovative and
special union element "FlexyClip" made with a blend of rubber and nylon, which are necessary to ensure the perfect fit between panels. The Fast
Break System 2 Wood meets the requirements of European standard EN 14904 and the requirements of international sports federations.
Electronic scoreboards
Mondo manufactures innovative electronic scoreboards suitable for any kind of sports event, from local ones up to international competitions, both
indoor and outdoor. Mondo’s indoor products range includes multi-sport scoreboards, for basketball, handball, futsal and volleyball at the same
time, and scoreboards dedicated to a single sport, to meet the specific needs of each customer. FIBA approved multi-sports scoreboards have
been used for the major national, international and European competitions, such as the Japan 2006 Men Basketball World Championships and
Brazil 2006 Women Basketball World Championships. Mondo manufactures scoreboards for outdoor installations, specifically dedicated to single
sports: football, tennis, track & field and baseball.
For 10 years (prior to September 2010) the Saitama Super Arena was home to the John Lennon Museum which displayed John Lennon
memorabilia.
The Arena is the stadium, where the Japanese Professional Basketball League team plays the Saitama Broncos.
The official mascot of the 2006 World Basketball Championship 2006 was Badtz-Maru, a fellow character of Hello Kitty.
The Saitama Super Arena housed many evacuees who remained without housing after the terrible earthquake that occurred in Japan in March of
2011. More than 1,000 volunteers helped 2,300 persons from the area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
FIBA World Basketball Championships
The men's basketball world championship competition has been played since 1950 and is reserved for national teams members of Fiba, the
International Federation of basketball. It takes place every four years, in the same year in which the FIFA football World Cup takes place. In parallel
to men's championship, always in the same year but in a different country, also the women edition takes place.
The structure of the final tournament involves the participation of 24 teams previously selected
during the elimination rounds. As with the World Cup football, march finals will be played traditionally in various locations of the host country.
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during the elimination rounds. As with the World Cup football, march finals will be played traditionally in various locations of the host country.
At the final winning team the Naismith Trophy was awarded, which is named in honor of the inventor of the game of basketball, James Naismith
(1861-1939).
The 2010 edition saw the return to victory of the United States after 16 years. The U.S. representative has thus won his fourth gold and has left
behind the two teams that flanked in the group of holders of three titles, both no longer exist: Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.
The United States defeated its opponent in the final at the Sinan Erdem Dome that was the home team, the Turkish Representative. With the
second place, Turkey's basketball has earned the first world podium in its history.
Slideshow
Before
and
After
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