The Alster-Schwimmhalle is one of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

's larger aquatics centers, located in the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

district of Hohenfelde. Opened in 1973, it has regularly hosted various national and international swimming competitions. The Alster-Schwimmhalle is notable for its by double hyperbolic-paraboloid concrete-shell roof structure, designed by

Jörg Schlaich Jörg Schlaich (17 October 1934 – 4 September 2021) was a German structural engineer and is known internationally for his ground-breaking work in the creative design of bridges, long-span roofs, and other complex structures. He was a co-founde ...

, then partner at Stuttgart-based engineering firm Leonhardt & Andrä. Resting on three bearings and only thin, the concrete roof remains one the world's largest of its kind. Reminiscent of a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

–an allegory to its function as a swimming venue– the airy roof structure earned the Alsterschwimmhalle its nickname as "Schwimmoper" (''Aquatic Opera''). The building was substantially renovated in 2007 at a cost of approx 1 mio EUR. A further major renovation is planned for 2020 to 2024 at an expected cost of 60 mio EUR, closing the facility for four years.

Facilities

References

External links

*
Alster-Schwimmhalle
at ''baederland.de''

Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Nord Sports venues in Hamburg Swimming venues in Germany Diving venues Sports venues completed in 1973 {{Germany-sports-venue-stub