Raiffeisen Arena, Porrentruy

2020

We don't know whether the regional wood used in the new Raiffeisen Arena in Porrentruy was the decisive factor in HC Ajoie's promotion to the NLA. What is certain, however, is that the ice rink is a showcase project.

The project

The new Raiffeisen Arena with 4,650 seats is the home arena of HC Ajoie. It is a good example of how large-scale projects can be built using regional hardwood. The provision of wood by the client, known as in-house procurement, is one way in which wood from the region can also be used in public tenders. To this end, the surrounding municipalities founded the municipal union «Synidicat intercommunal District de Porrentruy (SIDP)». Timbatec developed a concept for the use of wood in the pre-project phase and supported the process from logging to the finished construction project.

The construction method

In the winter of 2018/19, ProForêt SA harvested around 2,000 m³ coniferous wood, 900 m³ ash and 300 m³ beech wood for the production of the components. For example, the lattice girders were made from spruce and ash wood with a span of 45 meters. They support the roof over the ice rink. The grandstand is a softwood construction with beams made of heavy-duty beech.

The challenge

Planning the structure so that it could be placed on the existing foundations was a major challenge. The answer is planning with well thought-out components that take into account the properties of the four different types of wood used (ash, beech, spruce and silver fir).