The is the third largest in the world. The ski jump, originally designed by the architect and ski jumper Heini Klopfer in 1950, was refitted in 1973 and 1986. A more thorough renovation of the ski jump was carried out in 2016, with Renn Architects commissioned to carry out the work with the remit to keep its symbolic character intact.
The Heini-Klopfer ski jump in Oberstdorf is the third largest in the world
The initial concept of Heini Klopfer‘s design was that based on expressing the concept of flight. The abstract form of the ski jump was reminiscent of an eagle‘s nest, which has been accentuated by the renovation. The striking red band merges with the curved geometry of the jump start and expresses the start of an eagle‘s flight. The red colour is based on the corporate design of Oberstdorf.
The renovation of the ski jump included the incorporation of new regulations that included increases in height of the jump slope, conversion of the existing start-up structure with a new start-up curve, the re-profiling of the landing slope, the demolition and construction of the judges‘ tower, as well as the reorganisation of the infrastructure in the run-out area with the associated stadium and terrain.
The run-out area was enlarged and a grandstand with standing area was also added
The existing ski jump was demolished to a length of 45 m and a new galvanized steel structure was added in order to extend and increase the height of the jump slope. The new jump was built onto the existing prestressed concrete structure of the run-in tower and the profile of the landing slope was also modified and adapted to the requirements of the new flight curve. The run-out area was extended and a grandstand with standing area added. So that the entire facility can also be used for tourism, a new, barrier-free inclined elevator was built.
In order to minimise disruption and limit infringement to surrounding trees, construction was contained within the envelope of the existing structure. No further areas had to be developed and the tree line could be preserved.
Galvanized steel plays a major role for the newly extended ski jump
By placing the new start-up geometry on the existing prestressed concrete structure, an economical, resource-saving implementation of the construction was achieved and the impressive prestressed concrete structure was preserved.
Due to use of prefabricated components, an extremely short construction time was realised and in this way, the extremely high demands on the precision of the ski jumping superstructure could also be taken into account. The deviation being only +/- 3 mm per 120 m length.
