Huge chimneys will surround Birmingham City F.C.’s new stadium. Heatherwick Studio is behind the unusual design, teaming up with US studio MANICA, known for designing stadiums such as Camp Nou and Nuovo Stadio Milano. The industrial theme of the stadium is intended to evoke the old character of east Birmingham, and between matches the site will become a public space for residents. Interestingly, the new stadium is expected to hold twice as many fans as its predecessor.
Football factory
Although Thomas Heatherwick has not yet designed a stadium, Kansas City-based studio MANICA has a portfolio of some of the world’s most important sports facilities. In addition to the previously mentioned stadiums, the studio has also worked on the UK’s largest stadium, Wembley Stadium. For this reason, it can be assumed that the combination of Heatherwick’s famous architectural flair and MANICA studio’s expertise will produce a spectacular result.
The twelve huge towers are intended to resemble the chimneys of the factories that enabled Birmingham to grow to a population of 1.15 million. The city, home to factories such as Dunlop, Jaguar and Cadbury, is also famous for its long football history. The famous Aston Villa club was founded in 1874, while Birmingham City Football Club was founded just a year later. It is the latter club that has lived to see a stadium design that will enter the top ten sports venues in the UK. Interestingly, Heatherwick’s design was unveiled for the 150th anniversary of Birmingham City F.C.’s formation.
The club’s distinctive blue colour will cover not only the facade, but also the stands. The sector layout has been designed to bring the fans as close to the pitch as possible. This solution is also intended to ensure good acoustics in the stadium. In turn, the retractable pitch and retractable roof will make the facility suitable for events, concerts and celebrations.
Local giant
The chimneys will not just be an aesthetic cladding for the stadium; their structure is expected to support the roof. What’s more, some of the chimneys are to house lifts and stairs, while the rest will have ventilation systems and pipes installed to ‘throw’ the stadium’s excessive roar upwards. Interestingly, the industrial architecture of the stadium is courtesy of Heatherwick, while the technical aspects will be handled by MANICA.
The area in front of the stadium will be transformed into a publicly accessible local activity zone. In addition to new restaurants, the plan includes the construction of a number of cafés and children’s playgrounds. The whole area will be part of a larger sports complex that will transform the appearance of the neighbourhood. The new Sports Quarter, including the stadium and a state-of-the-art training centre, is expected to be ready by 2031. According to the club’s calculations, the Birmingham Sports Quarter investment is expected to contribute around £760 million to the city’s economy (by 2035).
Birmingham City F.C club currently plays in the EFL Championship league which is the English equivalent of the 1st League in Poland. Built in 1906, St Andrew’s Stadium can accommodate around 30,000 fans and the new facility designed by Heatherwick will raise this number to 62,000. Apart from the technical aspects, it is important to appreciate that visually the facility does not resemble another oval ‘alien ship’ that blandly resembles its surroundings. With its brick chimneys and blue colours, the stadium does not lose its local character. You can read about another slightly more ‘spacey’ stadium design in Manchester HERE.
Visualisation source: Heatherwick Studio
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