Nya Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, owes its existence to the mid-century architectural partnership of Fritz Jaenecke and Sten Samuelsson, whose bold vision was brought to life by the master engineers at SIAB.
Built to host the 1958 FIFA World Cup, this engineering marvel was designed as a sweeping, column-free concrete wave. The vision required pioneering structural expressionism to give every single spectator an uncompromised view.
In the mid-1950s, Sweden was preparing to host the world’s biggest football tournament. Gothenburg needed a state-of-the-art arena that could transcend traditional, boxy stadium designs. The city announced an architectural competition for a multi-purpose venue capable of hosting everything from football and world-class athletics to speedway and ice-skating.
The winning design came from Fritz Jaenecke (a German-born Swedish modernist) and Sten Samuelsson (a visionary Swedish architect). Their design was a radical departure from convention: an open-air bowl characterized by towering, 52-meter concrete pylons and dynamically sloping north and south stands. This unique silhouette gave the stadium its famous “giant open wave” aesthetic.
