Home of FIFA
The Home of FIFA is a building complex on the Zürichberg , in the Hottingen district of the city of Zurich . Since its completion in 2006, it has served as the headquarters of the world football association FIFA .
history
After the headquarters on Sonnenberg in Zurich, which they moved into in 2000, no longer met the increasing demands and the 270 Fifa employees were spread across six properties, FIFA decided on a 44,000 square meter site after evaluating 30 locations in and around Zurich Piece of land near Zurich Zoo , which housed a Credit Suisse sports and leisure center. After almost two years of planning and implementation, the building was ready for occupancy in summer 2006. Including the land purchase, the construction cost 240 million francs (around 180 million euros).
The building hit the headlines when a police search of the house of FIFA headquarters was carried out in May 2015 on suspicion of corruption in connection with the 2018 and 2022 World Cups . After the then FIFA President Sepp Blatter had to appear before the FIFA Appeals Committee in February 2016 in connection with his suspension, he left the building through the back door after a seven-hour hearing.
architecture
The headquarters of FIFA, built by the architect Tilla Theus , is spanned diagonally with a fabric-like metal net, created by the Düren-based company GKD , and initially gives a simple impression. On the other hand, there is undisguised luxury in the size of the building and the materials selected. The inaccessibility of the building is also provocative. It is only open to Fifa members and employees.
The main part of the FIFA headquarters is underground: there are six basement floors, but only two upper floors. The archive and documentation center, technology, parliament and meditation room and parking spaces are located underground. Above ground are the reception hall the size of a football field, the offices for 300 employees and the conference room. Wall cladding made of stone slabs, American walnut veneer, aluminum and chrome steel, two benches made of onyx and a floor covering made of lapis lazuli determine the luxurious ambience.
The inside of the foundation stone contains a steel football 1.3 meters in diameter. This steel ball is filled with 204 bags of earth from all FIFA member associations.
The building is surrounded by six different, park-like structures, designed by Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten . The six green areas with their different vegetation are intended to symbolize the “game of the continents”: Europe, Asia, South America, Oceania, Africa and North America. An adjoining sports area offers four training areas.
The interplay between artificial and natural light is one of the central design elements. The American artist James Turrell also created a special play of light for the six inner courtyards, the facade and the interior .
Web links
- The Home of FIFA , FIFA website
- Mystical power center: the FIFA clubhouse , Deutsche Welle , May 10, 2010
- Elite meeting place for football officials , Neue Zürcher Zeitung , January 30, 2007
- Fifa headquarters in Zurich after Blatter's departure , Tages-Anzeiger , June 3, 2015
Individual evidence
- ↑ Acquisition of the CS sports facility in District 7 - Fifa stays in Zurich. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 11, 2003, accessed March 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Raid on FIFA headquarters. Tagesschau.de, May 27, 2015, accessed on May 27, 2015 .
- ↑ Ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for The Home of FIFA - construction work can start on time , fifa.com, press release May 14, 2004, accessed on March 2, 2016.
Coordinates: 47 ° 22 ′ 53 " N , 8 ° 34 ′ 28" E ; CH1903: six hundred and eighty-five thousand seven hundred sixty-nine / 248460