Building Material and Structural Considerations

Ice rinks have different features than regular buildings, due to high temperature differences between inside and outside, and humidity issues caused by special "indoor climate zones". Air tightness is the key feature of the building envelope in ice arenas. Large windows on the façade should be avoided due to high energy costs in cooling the "indoor climate".

There are a number of options for building materials for the main structure of the ice rink. The most common materials and their features are:

Steel:

Pros: Long span length (ceiling beams), easy global availability, Existing pre-fabricated systems, low costs

Cons: Corrodes easily, poor fire protections, high maintenance

Wood:

Pros: long span length (ceiling beams), non-corroding, existing pre-fabricated systems, fire protection
Cons: poor availability some countries, high cost, high maintenance, short lifespan (decay)

Reinforced Concrete:

Pros: High global availability, non-corroding, existing pre-fabricated systems, high fire protection
Cons: High cost, short span length of beams, poor acoustics and high echo, low flexibility in uses

Mixed Combination of Materials:

Pros: Long span length, good fire protection, existence of pre-fabricated systems, low cost
Cons: Possible high corrosion, high decay, possible maintenance issues