The Swedish capital’s sports and cultural center, with its spectacular Globe Arena, has received international acclaim. Described as the largest spherical building in the world, the Globe Arena is Stockholm is 110 meters in diameter, has a ceiling height of 85 meters, and seats up to 16,000 spectators. Its exterior, comprising 3,693 aluminum sandwich panels covering 22,500 square meters, is enhanced and protected from pollution and the severe Scandinavian weather by a gleaming white coat based on Kynar 500® PVDF.
Kynar 500® is used by coating formulators as the basic vehicle in producing premium finishes for aluminum and galvanized steel. This fluoropolymer resin, produced by Arkema, Inc. is sold internationally under licensing agreements to leading paint manufacturers throughout the world.
Located on a glacial mound, the Globe is strikingly visible from all directions. It is the epicenter of an integrated complex that includes a hotel, office buildings, an enclosed shopping mall, a dance hall, an ice-skating rink and restaurants. The multi-purpose sphere can accommodate a range of events: from circuses to rock concerts. Overnight, it can be transformed from an ice hockey stadium to a theater, or from a boxing arena to an athletic field with a 200-meter track of four or six lanes. Huge crowds attend many events per year.
Such a high-tech design demanded an equally high-tech exterior coating that would be dazzling in appearance, yet durable. Consequently, the component manufacturer Light Metal Systems of Zurich and the Berg architects decided to go for the best material available, and chose a long-lasting decorative finish based on Kynar 500®. The finish is renowned for excellent durability, appearance and color stability. Moreover, the coating has an outstanding resistance to dirt retention, a primary consideration for a white building. These qualities met the conditions laid down by the building company.
The city’s authorities and the Berg architects were already familiar with the splendid qualities of Kynar 500®-bhased coatings. The domestic terminal at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, also designed by the Berg Arkietkontor team and coated with Kynar 500®, received Sweden’s 1983 “Best Building of the Year” award. Among the several awards the Globe received is the Nordic “Sheet-metal prize for architects 1989.”