Kick a soccer ball into the air, and the path it travels will trace the curved shape of the Freedom Mobile Arch, a mass-timber roof designed by Revery Architecture (with structural engineering by Fast + Epp) as part of Vancouver’s Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) amphitheatre revamp. And what better way to inaugurate the structure than by having it play host to this past summer’s World Cup festivities?
Throughout June and July, the venue served as the home of FIFA Fan Festival Vancouver. Then, in August, the PNE fair moved in to host 17 days of programming and performances by the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Earth, Wind & Fire. The 10,000-seat (including lawn space) landmark gives the annual summer exhibition a more prominent home base but will stay booked with other events throughout the year.
Touching down at three points, the starburst shell above is one of the largest free-span timber roof structures in the world, stretching 103.6 metres end to end. A total of 60 arched components are joined into six intersecting barrel-vaulted segments, the roof rising to 24.4 metres at its highest point. And even when no one’s on stage, the unobstructed views of the mountains in the distance and the impressive woodwork overhead prove that nature can be its own form of entertainment.
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