IRELAND may not have made it to the 2014 World Cup, but there was a link between Limerick and the Brazilian football extravaganza.
The roof of the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which hosted Sunday’s final between Germany and Argentina, was designed by Germany-based engineering firm Schlaich Bergermann.
The same company was also involved throughout the design and construction of the canopy above Limerick’s Milk Market, a fact to which RTE’s George Hamilton alluded in his match commentary.
The Milk Market canopy was unveiled in June 2010 and is one of the standout features of the city centre. The structure won an Irish Architecture Award in 2011 in the People’s Choice category.
Schlaich Bergermann was contracted to assist with the reconstruction of the Maracana Stadium for the 2014 World Cup, designing a fibreglass membrane-coated roof which was vividly illuminated for its night-time matches and was observed by millions of TV viewers worldwide in recent weeks.
