The Architecture of Mass Vaccine Distribution

Large Covid-19 vaccination programs are transforming football stadiums, parking lots and even art museums. But building the infrastructure of inoculation can get complicated.

Albrecht Broemme, the project manager in charge of setting up six of them, began laying out Lego models of six mass vaccination sites in November. Working with the staff of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief — he used to be the president of the agency and retired from it in 2019 — he turned his colorful plastic mock-ups into real-life facilities capable of churning out thousands of jabs a day. The goal was setting up sites that Berliners could file through like IKEA shoppers.

Among the first mass vaccination centers is the Arena Berlin, a bus-depot-turned-event space built in the 1920s. The building now has 80 vaccination booths numbered and separated by white metallic panels, capable of delivering 4,000 doses a day. Together, the six Berlin sites are expected to cost between $70 million and $95 million according to the Washington Post.