Baku Crystal Hall

Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

A remarkable indoor arena, Baku Crystal Hall was designed and constructed in only 8 months! The tight deadline was to make sure the arena would be completed in tome to host its first major event, the 2012 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Interestingly, the arena was designed as both a concert hall and a sports stadium with a 25,000 seat capacity for different types of major events.

Designed to simulate a cut crystal, the multifunctional arena was designed by GMP Architekten and Nüssli International. Overall, it has 20,000 square metres of membrane fa?ade which is coated in 9500 LED lights; these create what is arguable the hall's best feature: the mesmerising, beacon-like light display that the hall makes after dark.

Photos: Marcus Bredt