The Wembley and the New United Emirates (Arsenal) Stadia - Case Study Example

The Wembley and the new United Emirates (Arsenal) stadia 1.0 Introduction Football has fascinated man ever since the game took root in the Celtic period. Celtic warriors after killing their enemies would cut the heads and carry them around the neck of their horses to prove their heroic deeds, and later pass it on to their children who would kick the head around. A little grey orb found in the Stirling Castle of Mary was determined to be the oldest football in the world; dating back to the mid-16th century, and said to be 436 years old! (Springer, 2001) The tradition of kicking a football (sic) continues, and is now the number one game in the United Kingdom. The sport is played in open grounds and stadiums around the world. Nothing has been seen to come close to the technological marvels of architecture and design as those witnessed in Wembley and the United Emirate stadias in England. Built to the highest specifications, using the latest technology and incorporating the state-of-the-art facilities, Wembley is modernization personified. With a seating capacity of 90,000, this stadium is a site par excellence. Words may be hard to express the feeling, but one needs to be there to experience the electrifying atmosphere. The United Emirates Stadium is ultra-modern to say the least. For a top team (Arsenal), it needs a top home and what better than the 60,000-seater; £390 million stadium built over 17 acres. Built with over 55,000 cubic meters of concrete and 15,000 square meters of glazing, having over 2,000 doors and 100 flights of stairs, and providing more than 900 toilets and urinals for spectators, this stadium is among the best in the world. Football will not be the same again (Emirates Stadium, 2004). 2.0 The Stadia: Emirates An Inner view of the new Emirates Stadium, Photo Courtesy: arsenal.com An important aspect of a stadium is its proximity to public and private transport systems. Ultimately, what’s the use of having a stadium without spectators? The design team had taken special care to see that customer’s basic needs are well taken care of. One can get to the Emirates Stadium by using London’s comprehensive public transport network that brings you to within a few minutes walk of the ground. The stadium has a colour coding system in place and clearly located pedestrian signs to help one find their way on-street. Visiting spectators are located in the green quadrant, to the south east of the stadium. By tube, the nearest station is the Arsenal (Piccadilly Line), around 3 minutes walk from the ground. Others like the Finsbury Park (Victoria & Piccadilly Lines and GN rail) and Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line, North London Line and Great Northern Line) stations are also good enough for those inclined to make a 10 minute walk. For those who like to travel by bus, bus stops located on Holloway Road, Nag's Head, Seven Sisters Road, Blackstock Road and Highbury Corner are within touching distance of the stadium. What more could a spectator ask for? (How to get to Emirates Stadium, 2006) Technical specs: The height of the new stadium is 41.9 meters from pitch level to the top of the roof for better audience view. As shown in the photo above, the stadium with its rectangular shape, gives the audience ample viewing options of the action below. The stadium has 150 Executive Boxes, with a capacity to serve up to 2,000 meals on a match day. There are approximately 250 catering serving points around the new stadium to cater to the needs of the spectators, 41 TV cameras around the stadium for convenient viewing, safety and security measures, and 215 seats for the media. Designed by HOK Sport, Architects of Stadium Australia in Sydney, The English National Stadium Wembley, Royal Ascot Racecourse and Wimbledon Centre Court, the stadium has the capacity to accommodate 250 wheelchair users at the new stadium, provided at all public and corporate levels throughout the building. Size of the grass area is 113m by 76m, making it much larger than Highbury. This gigantic structure consumed over 60,000 cubic metres of concrete, 10,000 tons of steel reinforcement, 3,000 tons of tubular steel for the main roof, apart from 33,000 metres of concrete terracing. 15,000m2 of glazing, 4,500 metres of metal hand railing, 2,000 doors, 100 flights of stairs, and 13 elevators in addition to 5 escalators makes the Emirates Stadium a technological marvel. Every minute detail has been addressed to handle spectator needs, making this stadium worthy of its splendour, including the four tiers of seating covered by a roof of approximately 30,000m2. Welcome then to the new Emirates Stadium, the stadium of the future (Emirates Stadium: Key Facts, 2004). 3.0 The Stadia: Wembley An Inner view of the Wembley Stadium, Photo Courtesy: Pressbox, wembleystadium.com To reach the stadium, there are 3 stations servicing Wembley Stadium: Wembley Park, Wembley Central and Wembley Stadium. Of these, Wembley stadium on the Chiltern train line, travelling from the Midlands, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire is the closest to the stadium. To cater to their fans necessities, the station offers platforms with fully accessible passenger operated lifts with CCTV. For those on wheelchairs, the management has made elaborate arrangements with Chiltern Railways to ensure a wheelchair ramp is on standby to facilitate access from the train to the platform. Just 740 metres from the stadium, spectators need to exit the stadium via the lifts to street level, turn right and access to the Stadium via The White Horse Bridge. Talk about convenience! For those who prefer the shuttle bus services, Wembley Stadium offers an accessible transport facility for disabled visitors on event days. This service operates between Wembley Park Station and the stadium. Wembley Park station is on both the Jubilee and Metropolitan underground lines. Signage is provided on the platforms advising customers to wait in this area for level access to the trains. Five new lifts allow for wheelchair access from the ticket hall to Olympic Way, and then a ramp down to the subway, just 600 metres to Wembley stadium. Wembley Central is on the Bakerloo underground line and the Silverlink train line. Like Wembley Park, Wembley Central too offers low-level ticket machines for wheelchair users. 2kms from the stadium, spectators need to exit the station to street level, turn right to see the signpost to the stadium. Using the pedestrian crossing, turn left at the junction and continue towards White Horse Bridge before entering the stadium via the Bridge entrance. For those who prefer to use the bus services, routes 83, 92 and 182 run from Wembley Central and Wembley Park. Sadly, not all buses that travel to the Stadium are fully accessible.     Technical Specs: With an amazing seating capacity of 90,000 seats, Wembley is easily the largest football stadium in the world with every seat under cover. The technical design has been immaculately planned to offer every spectator, unobstructed seating view of the action below. The stadium roof rises to 52 metres above the pitch, and covers a circumference of 1 km. The whole roof is over 11 acres, of which, 4 acres are moveable. To strengthen this mighty structure, 4,000 separate pile foundations at a depth of 35 metres are provided. 90,000m3 of concrete and 23,000 tonnes of steel has gone into making this huge stadium. The roof weighs almost 7,000 tonnes alone. Two giant screens give the spectators a closer and better view of the game below. The Wembley Stadium encloses 4,000,000 m3 inside its walls and under its roof. There are 2,618 toilets to compliment the large number of spectators for games, and the leg room for every seat in the stadium is spacious. One of the key challenges of the design team was to keep the stands higher and closer to the pitch for a better and uninterrupted view. Many stadiums in the UK have suffered for want of better pitches as the stands leave large sections of the pitch in almost permanent shadow. This was taken into consideration as the design team began working on the roof of the new stadium. It is not just the structure that appeals to the connoisseur, but the playing ground too. As grass requires direct sunlight, the huge roof could have caused problems to the designers. The permanent roof was designed to bring most of the sunlight into the ground, but the sliding roof is a big advantage to allow sunlight feed the grass. Computer models of the air movement and sunlight on the existing pitch helped the designers in bringing up an architectural marvel par excellence. Most striking among the architectural delights is the setting up of the presentation of trophies from the Royal Box, in the middle of the north stand. All spectators sit in a single bowl rather than four separate stands, as in the case of the new Emirates Stadium. This is a central feature of the new design; it allows everyone in the stadium to share the event and contribute to a memorable experience and atmosphere. 4.0 Commonalities Both the above mentioned stadias share a lot in common. It’s pretty difficult to differentiate between the two structural marvels, but for their size. While the Wembley can accommodate close to 100,000, the Emirates can accommodate around 65,000. Both the stadiums have similar appearances in their shape and structure. The facilities for spectators have been taken into consideration, and the facilities on offer are commendable. Public and private transportation facilities have been taken care of on a priority basis, and both these stadiums have been built using the similar technological parameters. Just as the Emirates structure consumed over 60,000 cubic metres of concrete, 10,000 tons of steel reinforcement, 3,000 tons of tubular steel for the main roof, and 33,000 metres of concrete terracing, the Wembley consumed 90,000m3 of concrete and 23,000 tonnes of steel. The roof which weighs almost 7,000 tonnes encloses 4,000,000 m3 inside its walls and under its roof. The roofs of both these structures have been built at very great heights with the intention of allowing ample air and sunlight into the ground below. This allows the grass to grow and remain green. The design of the roofs also helps the ground below from coming under the roof shade on most occasions. 5.0 Conclusion Though they rival on the playing ground, there is not much to distinguish between the two on their structural appearance and technological excellence. The two stadias have only made the game of football more glamorous and exciting. The design of these two stadias has also made the spectators amenities more convenient and appealing. An all round view brings better appreciation of the game, and there are no restrictions to the game below. Enough number of doors to enter and exit, and well-designed toilets has made the stadium very comfortable and enjoyable. These two structural marvels are not just a gain to these two clubs, but to the entire football fraternity in the UK. They stand as examples for others to emulate. 6.0 References Will Springer, The Origin of Football, http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/football_origin.html Emirates Stadium: Key Facts, 2004, http://www.arsenal.com/emiratesstadium/article.asp?article=Key%20Facts Emirates Stadium: How to get there, 2006, http://www.arsenal.com/emiratesstadium/article.asp?article=Key%20Facts The stadia can be visited by taking the metropolitan line to Wembley Park and the Piccadilly or Victoria line to Finsbury Park Coursework 1 Introduction Students are expected to get themselves out to the venues and view them taking appropriate photographs for their journal to emphasise the factors that they are highlighting in their reports Objective of the Case study: – To produce a technical report comparing both stadia’s building frame technology. Explain the similarities and differences in the construction and technological characteristics. Highlight the practical aspects and buildability features which further explain the selection of these materials for the purposes chosen Case study: The Wembley and the new United Emirates (Arsenal) stadia have a number of common features in their construction. You are required to: Prepare a photo journal and technical case study detailing the common features in both materials and construction techniques. In your photo journal you should also highlight and discuss using sketches where appropriate to explain the unique technical points the building offer to the construction industry at this time. The report should be prepared as an information document for a non- technical client looking to invest in a similar development in the UK Assistance: Technical articles relevant to the stadia may be used. Extra info: • Include selected photographs journal, drawings or other illustrations to support your analysis. • Present your analysis in your own words. • Avoid the uncritical use of trade advertising literature. • Fully reference your report. • Marks will be awarded for analysis rather than description and for discussion of the specific rather than the general. Word count 2000 words Maximum document size 8 pages About us: Wembley Today, Welcome to Wembley Stadium, http://www.wembleystadium.com/brilliantfuture/thenewdesign/ Emirates Stadium, Key Facts, http://www.arsenal.com/emiratesstadium/article.asp?article=Key%20Facts Read More