BERGISEL SKI JUMP

BERGISEL SKI JUMP 

Innsbruck, Austria, 2001-2002

Architects: Zaha Hadid

Created in 1926, the Bergisel ski jump has

 been well known almost since its construction, 

and was the site of the 1964 and 1976 Winter

 Olympic competitor.

 The schedule of international ski jumping events is such that local authorities could allow only one year from demolition to opening of the new facility . Cleverly, the Jump includes a steel plate clad café situated ten meters above the jumping ramp, and it is apparent in the design that the Austrian Ski Federation wanted to create monument as much as they sought a high-quality sports facility. Seating 150 persons, the café boasts a 360° view of the city and mountain scenery. In spite of resistance to contemporary architecture of notable quality . Both Hadid Dominique Perrault (Innsbruck Town Hall) have succeeded in breaking into this Tyrolean hold of traditionalism. Forty-eight meters tall and seven meters on the ground, the concrete structure has already permitted long flights over the snowy slow such as the 134.5 meter jump achieved here by Sven Hannawald in January 2002 Hadid has described the structure as an organic hybrid a sort of mixture tower and a bridge, but it succeeds in abstracting the speed of motion and flight that characterizes the most spectacular of winter sports events.