ZHA Wins Stadium Competition in England

Comments by Dale Vince, Forest Green Rovers chairman, in a press release from ZHA echoed this sentiment:

The really standout thing about this stadium is that it’s going to be almost entirely made of wood – the first time that will have been done anywhere in the world. The importance of wood is not only that it’s naturally occurring, it has very low embodied carbon – about as low as it gets for a building material. And when you bear in mind that around three quarters of the lifetime carbon impact of any stadium comes from its building materials, you can see why that’s so important – and it’s why our new stadium will have the lowest embodied carbon of any stadium in the world.

The stadium will be the centerpiece of green energy company Ecotricity's £100 million Eco Park development, half of which will be devoted to sporting facilities; the rest will include a green technology business park, a nature reserve and a potential public transport hub. According to Vince, who is also the founder of Ecotricity, "We’ve started with a blank sheet of paper, and we’ll be going further than anyone has done before – this really will be the greenest football stadium in the world."

The competition was announced in March 2016, with the Rovers receiving more than fifty entries. In May they narrowed shortlisted nine entries and gave the firms two months to develop their concepts. The press release only mentioned one of the other competitors: runner up Glenn Howells Architects, which designed a highway service area in Gloucestershire that is covered by a grass roof. Vince indicated he will work with them on future projects.