ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS, SWECO AND TREDJE NATUR TO DESIGN NEW AARHUS STADIUM

A team comprising Zaha Hadid Architects, working with architecture and engineering consultancy Sweco and landscape architect Tredje Natur, has won the competition to build the new Aarhus football stadium in Denmark.

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Bringing supporters as close as possible to the field of play in a singletiered seating bowl creating an intense match-day experience, the new Aarhus Stadium is embedded within the city’s Marselisborg forest.

T itled the ‘Arena of the Forest’, the design concept is informed by the vertical rhythm of the surrounding trees that reach up to 47m in height. The design envisions the new stadium as an extension of the forest, with its verticality continued in the stadium’s public colonnades and the timber ribs of its facade. These vertical gestures flow from the forest towards the landscaped plaza and into the colonnades of the stadium’s external and internal concourses. Together, with an intricate hierarchy of timber ribs within the facade and roof, the stadium’s large horizontal volume is subdivided into a human scale, whilst at the same time offering a sense of arrival for the fans congregating in the adjacent public plazas.

T he new stadium’s roof is designed to maximise weather protection and increase comfort levels in the adjacent external plazas as well as the internal concourses, defining a sheltered 360º public circulation route that is independent of the events within the stadium, creating welcoming new public spaces for a wide variety of civic, recreational and cultural uses by the local community and visitors to the park.

T he stadium’s transparent roof and the gaps within the timber ribs of its facade reveal glimpses of the surrounding forest, while its permeable colonnades blur the boundaries between different programmes. The east and west sides incorporate open colonnades that act not only as intuitive wayfinding to demark the main entrances but also as an interface between public events and ticketed programmes, allowing the two to expand into one another and maximise the potential to host many different types of events 365 days a year.

To be built on the site of the existing stadium, the new project’s design, structure and materials are optimised with regard to environmental impact, functionality and experienced value. In using the right materials for the right function and reducing quantities to the absolute minimum where strength and robustness add the greatest possible value, the new Aarhus Stadium is characterised by three primary materials: concrete incorporating recycled aggregates for the columns, locally-procured, upcycled and recycled steel for the trusses and timber from local certified sustainable sources for the facade cladding. uk.westfraser.com

T he adjacent ‘Stadionhallerne’ building, completed in 1918 by Architect Axel Høgh-Hansen will be refurbished. Its intense red facades and white ornamentation will be retained to keep its historic soul that everyone at the club holds dear.

T he design and construction of the new building is driven by the recycling and reuse of the existing stadium’s materials and components to the largest extent possible. In addition to the positive effect on the new stadium’s environmental impact, the re-utilisation of the old stadium’s components will contribute to the local anchoring of the project.

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H ome ground to Aarhus Gymnastikforening (AGF) football club whose first team play in the Danish Superliga, the current Aarhus Stadium opened in 1920. While a series of refurbishments were undertaken between 1948 and 2004, the existing stadium no longer meets the standards required to host regular top-flight professional and international football matches as well as large-scale cultural events. Perhaps most notably for AGF supporters, the long distances between spectators and the football pitch within the existing stadium are an obstacle to generating the most exciting atmosphere for AGF players and fans at home games. The new stadium will bring fans very close to the field of play, creating an immersive experience for everyone at the match.

T he competition organisers praised the team’s proposal for its understanding and interpretation of the stadium’s special location within the ancient Marselisborg forest and its adjacency to the historic Stadionhallerne.

G ianluca Racana, Director of Zaha Hadid Architects, said: “It is an honour to have been selected to build such an important project in Aarhus. Our proposal for the new Aarhus Stadium is inspired by its natural forest context and the club’s legacy. Providing a wealth of new public spaces for use 365 days a year, the stadium will be a new landmark for the city that incorporates the highest standards of environmental, economic and social sustainability within every aspect of its design and construction.”

4 2 Danish and international architect teams applied for prequalification for the tender in December 2021, and six teams were chosen for the first round of the competition, with three equal winners continuing to the second round. The winner of the competition was announced by the City of Aarhus as a developer, as well as the two sponsors behind the majority of the financing, Lind Invest and Salling Fondene, and the local Superliga club AGF Football. www.zaha-hadid.com

T he winning proposal will now be qualified during the first half of 2023 in collaboration between the City of Aarhus, the winning team and AGF.

Parallel to that process, the contractor who will be responsible for the construction of the new stadium will be found. In the second half of 2023, the construction will be planned in detail before the current stadium begins to be gradually dismantled beginning in 2024. The construction phase will proceed over four stages towards the expected inauguration of a new stadium in 2026.

HOLLAWAY STUDIO DESIGNS SUSTAINABLE WORKSHOP FOR ROCKING-HORSE MAKER ALONGSIDE COMMUNITY-LED AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The award-winning architecture practice, Hollaway Studio, has designed a sustainable new workshop and museum for world-renowned rocking-horse maker, Stevenson Brothers, replacing a former petrol filling station on a

The new bespoke building replaces the existing factory and dilapidated outbuildings, adding housing alongside a farm shop and co-working cafe. This provides an opportunity to combine both sites together under one roof, with Hollaway placing community firmly at the heart of its plans.

M aker of fine rocking horses for the late Queen Elizabeth II, Stevenson Brothers –which was established almost 40 years ago by twin brothers Marc and Tony –commissioned UK architect firm Hollaway to design a contemporary, sustainable workshop to showcase these methods and its heritage.

High Halden site

H ollaway has designed a contemporary timber-clad building that is a gentle nod to the fabric of the rocking horses. An abundance of glass permits visitors to view the making process and fine craftsmanship for themselves with the opportunity for organised tours.

T his desire to reveal the hidden side of the workshop is a hallmark of Hollaway’s design ethos. It can also be seen in its extensive plans for Brompton Bicycles' European HQ and factory (briefly covered in FC&A’s April 2022 edition), which is due for completion in 2027 in nearby Ashford, as well as Hollaway’s Curious Brewery.

B eside the workshop will be Stevenson Brothers’ ‘rockinghorse hospital’, offering expert restoration and conservation, recognising that these oftenheirloom items are an integral and valued part of the family. Here, any rocking horse can await the necessary repairs so that it can provide prolonged joy for future generations to come. Beyond the hospital will be a shared working space for the public and schools to learn about the craftsmanship involved.

“ When we first started to make rocking horses over 40 years ago, we had three goals,” explain Marc and Tony. “To re-introduce the rocking horse and make them popular again, make the best rocking horses in the world, and inspire people to discover their creativity. By building the new workshop, museum and showroom, we will be allowing members of the public to be part of a larger experience, watching for themselves what we do and being inspired by all they see. It’s been an honour making rocking horses for Queen Elizabeth II for the past 20 years.”

To make this vision possible, to the rear of the new workshop, Hollaway has designed 22 new detached four- and five-bedroom exemplar homes based on a contemporary farmstead design with exposed brick, black timber and slate to match similar buildings in the surrounding area. Ponds, pathways and cycle links will open up a previously inaccessible public right of way to allow the local community to enjoy the space. The inclusion of the farm shop and coworking cafe will become the beating heart of the area.

Sustainability is key to the design, with a biodiversitynet-gain improvement of 16% thanks to the addition of grass roofs and grasslands. As well as the environmental progress in transforming the land in this way, the site’s transformation will significantly increase employment.

Bethersden site

Bethersden is a picturesque village set amidst the glory of the Kentish countryside, a region of tile-hung cottages, spectacular old mills and pretty oasthouses. A hamlet with properties dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, including five listed buildings, the village was formerly the centre of the Kentish wool trade.

I n addition to the High Halden site, Stevenson Brothers also owns another brownfield site in Bethersden. Here, the finishing touches are given to the rocking horses before they are displayed for the new owners and taken home. As part of the overall scheme, the old Bethersden workshop will be redeveloped into nine affordable apartments comprising seven onebedroom apartments, one two-bedroom apartment and one accessible apartment. Together, these nine apartments will provide 40% affordable homes, which are fully compliant with Government legislation and reflective of local housing needs. The re-development of the site will also create a biodiversity-net-gain improvement of around 30%.

C ommenting on the project, Guy Hollaway, Principal Partner at Hollaway, says: “This project is about community. The design of the new Stevenson Brothers’ workshop and museum actively encourages members of the public to engage in the creative process of these world-renowned rocking horses. Whilst gaining a rare insight into the craftsmanship of Stevenson rocking horses, members of the public will also be able to visit the farm shop, cafe and courtyard, which will become a rural destination and meeting place.”

T he aspiration is that Stevenson Brothers will continue in a new, purposebuilt workshop completed in 2025, bringing together the local community and providing much-needed new homes. The story of rocking horses will continue for many decades to come, as will this much-loved Ashford-based business www.hollawaystudio.co.uk