Rock cavern stadium. A research program related to public use of Underground caverns

Norwegian technology related to preinvestigations, planning, design and construction of large underground caverns is wellknown worldwide. However, so far this technology is only slightly verified through scientiffic reports and documentation. The "Rock cavern stadium" research program is an interdisciplinary program related to the ongoing building and future use of Gjovik Olympic Subsite which is the largest cavern in the world for public purposes with a span of 61 meters and a height of 25 meters. The estimated budget for this program is about USD 4 million which is made possible through grants from The Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as well as through contributions from Norwegian and Swedish companies that are participating. The program is carried out in collaboration with The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of Technology. The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and The Eastern Norway Research Center. The research program will continue until the end of 1994 to ensure that input comes from a full period of use in this stadium with different activities like exhibitions, conferences, concerts etc being included as verification through full-scale measurements and observations. The research program has five subtasks. Three of these are related to subjects like Energy consumption. HVAC installations. Fire safety design, Engineering geology and Rock mechanics, Environmental aspects. The fourth subtask is concerned with the collection of basic data, results and experience from these three subtasks to provide a basis for national Norwegian guidelines related to this interdisciplinary subject area. The guidelines will first be presented as a manual for planning and engineering purposes. The realization of this research program is a unique opportunity to enhance the expertise that has been acquired from this cavern stadium. By involving research in this extraordinary project from the excavation and building phase to its subsequent use. this will give the participants know-how and expertise which is very much in demand internationally. The coordination of the international activities between the participants as well as preparation of participations and presentations in international conferences and symposium are included in the fifth task of this national research program.