A stadium roof is where architectural ambition meets engineering reality. At TheStadiumBusiness Design & Development Summit 2026, PFEIFER Structures’ Thomas Hermeking will take delegates inside the cable and membrane engineering behind Nou Mestalla.
Valencia CF’s new home provides the setting for a session exploring lightweight architecture on a grand scale. In The Roof of Nou Mestalla: Lightweight Architecture – Precision Construction, Hermeking will examine how structural form, material efficiency and precision construction come together to turn an ambitious stadium vision into a buildable roof.
The Engineering Above the Stands
The roof’s cable structure is a central part of the story. Valencia CF has confirmed that PFEIFER Structures is manufacturing the bracing, radial and tension ring cables for the project. These components perform distinct roles: stabilising the supporting pillars, forming the inner tension ring and connecting it to the outer compression ring.
Hermeking’s presentation will explore the relationship between the structural form and the materials that make it possible. The focus is on how sophisticated cable and membrane engineering can deliver the scale of a major stadium roof while pursuing material efficiency.
From Architectural Vision to Construction
For stadium owners, architects, engineers and delivery teams, the session offers a closer look at the connection between design ambition and construction precision. Using Nou Mestalla as the case study, Hermeking will bring structural form, material selection and execution into the same conversation.
ON STAGE AT #TDS26
The Roof of Nou Mestalla
Lightweight Architecture – Precision Construction
Thomas Hermeking
Head of Sales & Preconstruction, PFEIFER Structures GmbH
Meet Thomas Hermeking
Thomas Hermeking is Head of Sales & Preconstruction at PFEIFER Structures GmbH. He combines the knowledge gained from 15 years working on large projects for general contractors with 20 years of experience in lightweight construction.
He has been involved in numerous high-profile lightweight structure projects, including Berlin Olympic Stadium, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, London Olympic Stadium, Al Janoub and Al Thumama stadiums in Qatar, the National Stadium in Luxembourg and Valencia CF’s new roof in Spain.
His special focus is the conversion and refurbishment of existing lightweight structures, including PFEIFER Structures’ work on the EURO stadiums in Stuttgart and Hamburg and, most recently, the roof of Dresden Central Station.
STADIUMS. ARENAS. DESTINATIONS.
The Ideas Behind the Next Generation of Venues
Join Thomas Hermeking and the stadium design and development community in Manchester for project insights, practical expertise and the conversations that move venues forward.
TheStadiumBusiness Design & Development Summit 2026
30 November – 2 December 2026
Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
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