27.01.2017
Today, King Willem-Alexander inaugurated the renewed Thialf ice arena with an opening ceremony for the short track and marathon race competition. Afterwards, the king was given a guided tour of the new ice arena that was designed by ZJA. The inauguration is the crowning glory of completing the renovation of Thialf, which started in 2015.
In the renewed Thialf, everything is about the ice experience and the ice skaters. Based on this vision, ZJA designed an ice arena with a logical ordering of functions and an iconic appearance inside, as well as outside. The design is an extension of the oval structure of the existing building. Outside, the ice arena has a state-of-the-art design. Inside, Thialf has been modernized while maintaining the characteristic Thialf atmosphere.
Today, Thialf is the most energy-efficient ice arena with the fastest and best 400-metre lowland track. Moreover, training conditions such as temperature and humidity are easy to adapt to specific requests and needs. In addition, the renewed Thialf has 5,000 solar panels on the roof.
Photographs: ZJA and Roy Klompmaker