FSM
Feature
Renovating for new-stadium performance in a changing climate
By Alex Thomas, Regional Design Director at HKS
Extreme weather is becoming part of the stadium brief. Renovation offers existing venues a route to greater resilience, a better fan experience and new-stadium levels of performance.
A recent Bad Bunny concert in Milan was cancelled after a violent hailstorm forced the evacuation of an open-air venue holding around 80,000 people. At the World Cup, Mexico’s match against England kicked off an hour late because of lightning around the stadium. In both cases, the effects reached beyond the programme into transport, staffing, revenue and the experience of tens of thousands of people.1
British venues have often accepted disruption at the hottest, coldest or wettest edges of the year. Preparing every part of our infrastructure for a rare extreme could appear disproportionate, but the climate crisis is altering that calculation. Hotter conditions are increasingly relevant at the end and beginning of the football season, as well as for cricket, rugby league, concerts and other summer events. Heavier rainfall is also being added to an event calendar that already has to manage cold, wind, lightning and hail.
The response has to be specific to each venue. National climate projections establish the broad direction of travel, but every stadium occupies a particular location and creates its own microclimates. One entrance may face the afternoon sun, an upper concourse may retain heat, and another side of the building may funnel wind-driven rain towards a queue. A coastal stadium, a dense urban ground and a riverside venue will experience different pressures. UKCP18 provides regional and local projections precisely because adaptation decisions cannot be based on one national average.2
As a stadium designer, I am interested in where those conditions begin to affect the experience and performance of the venue. That starts before the spectator reaches the turnstile and continues through arrival, queuing, circulation, the seat and the journey home. Athletes, performers and staff have their own patterns of exposure, often lasting much longer than the event itself.
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FSM
©Nic Lehoux Photography
©Nic Lehoux Photography
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