Zaha Hadid Architects Unveils Design for an Eco-Friendly Sports Center in England
Leave it to the team of virtuosos at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to successfully design a network of environmentally focused buildings that will connect to the world's first all-wood stadium. The London-based firm, along with British green-energy company Ecotricity, has unveiled plans for a new ZHA-designed green technology center in Stroud, England.
Located along England's west coast near the Bristol Channel, the project is being referred to as the “Gateway to Stroud.” It will include several greenhouselike buildings and a wood footbridge that overpasses Nymphsfield Road, connecting the campus to the new arena. The stadium, which was also designed by ZHA and won last year's design competition, will be the new home for the Forest Green Rovers F.C.
A rendering of the newly unveiled eco-friendly office spaces, which are part of a greater complex connected to an all-wood soccer stadium.
“Gateway to Stroud" will feature state-of-the-art office space geared toward environmentally focused companies. “It will be a place where green businesses and technology companies come together and share ideas: a real focal point of creativity and innovation for the area and a part of the green industrial revolution that’s beginning to take off around the world,” Ecotricity stated on their website. Of course, for a design that's focused on being as eco-friendly as possible, sustainability was at the forefront of all decisions. That means structures such as the all-wood soccer stadium will not only be green in design, they will also be powered by renewable energy sources.
Pictured is a rendering of the wood footpath that will connect the complex to the soccer stadium (right).
“We hope to push the boundaries of sustainable development, create 4,000 jobs in the green economy, a world class football stadium and make more room for nature with a big biodiversity boost, as well as create a new ‘Gateway to Stroud,’” said Ecotricity founder Dale Vince in a statement.