High Tech

High-tech architecture
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The HSBC Hong Kong headquarters, completed in 1985, is one example of high-tech
architecture.
High-tech architecture, also known as Late Modernism or Structural Expressionism, is an
architectural style that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high-tech industry and
technology into building design. High-tech architecture appeared as a revamped modernism, an
extension of those previous ideas helped by even more technological advances. This category
serves as a bridge between modernism and post-modernism; however, there remain gray areas as
to where one category ends and the other begins. In the 1980s, high-tech architecture became
more difficult to distinguish from post-modern architecture. Some of its themes and ideas were
later absorbed into the style of Neo-Futurism art and architectural movement.
Like Brutalism, Structural Expressionist buildings reveal their structure on the outside as well as
the inside, but with visual emphasis placed on the internal steel and/or concrete skeletal structure
as opposed to exterior concrete walls. In buildings such as the Pompidou Centre, this idea of
revealed structure is taken to the extreme, with apparently structural components serving little or
no structural role. In this case, the use of "structural" steel is a stylistic or aesthetic matter.
The style's premier practitioners include Colombian architect Bruce Graham and Bangladeshi
architect Fazlur Rahman Khan for the John Hancock Centre, Willis Tower and Onterie Center,
British architects Sir Norman Foster, Sir Richard Rogers, Sir Michael Hopkins, Italian architect
Renzo Piano and Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, known for his organic, skeleton-like
designs. Early high-tech buildings were referred to by historian Reyner Banham as "serviced
sheds" due to their exposure of mechanical services in addition to the structure. Most of these
early examples used exposed structural steel as their material of choice. As hollow structural
sections had only become widely available in the early 1970s, high-tech architecture saw much
experimentation with this material.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Name
3 Aims
4 Characteristics
5 Examples
6 See also
7 References
Background[edit]
860880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, completed 1951, Chicago
The John Hancock Center, completed 1969, Chicago
The Lloyd's building, completed 1986, London

Buildings in this architectural style were constructed mainly in North America and Europe. It is
deeply connected with what is called the Second School of Chicago which emerged after World
War II. The main content is that the technological kind of construction, mostly with steel and
glass, is expressed in a formal independent way to gain aesthetic qualities from it. The first
proper example are the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments by German architect Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe.
Name[edit]
The style got its name from the book High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for The
Home, written by design journalists Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin and published in November
1978 by Clarkson N. Potter, New York. The book, illustrated with hundreds of photos, showed
how designers, architects, and home owners were appropriating classic industrial objects
library shelving, chemical glass, metal deck plate, restaurant supply, factory and airport runway
light fixtures, movers' quilts, industrial carpeting etc.found in industrial catalogues and putting
these to use in residential settings. The foreword to the book by architect Emilio Ambasz, former
curator of design at the Museum of Modern Art, put the trend in historical context.
As a result of the publicity and popularity of the book, the decorating style became known as
"High-Tech", and accelerated the entry of the still-obscure term "high-tech" into everyday
language. In 1979, the term high-tech appeared for the first time in a New Yorker magazine
cartoon showing a woman berating her husband for not being high-tech enough: "You're middle-,
middle-, middle-tech." After Esquire excerpted Kron and Slesin's book in six installments,
mainstream retailers across the United States, beginning with Macy's New York, started featuring
high-tech decor in windows and in furniture departments. But credit should go to a shop on 64th
Street and Lexington Avenue in New York, Ad Hoc Housewares, which opened in 1977, for
marketing these objects to a residential audience before anyone else. The book went on to be
reprinted in England, France, and Japan, and like the original, each edition included a directory
of local sources for the objects.
Aims[edit]
High-tech architecture was, in some ways, a response to growing disillusionment with modern
architecture. The realization of Le Corbusier's urban development plans led to cities with
monotonous and standardized buildings. Enthusiasm for economic building led to extremely
low-quality finishes, with subsequent degradation countering a now-waning aesthetic novelty.
High-tech architecture created a new aesthetic in contrast with standard modern architecture. In
High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for The Home, when discussing the high-tech
aesthetic, the authors emphasized using elements "your parents might find insulting". This
humour so aptly demonstrates the rebellious attitude.
Kron and Slesin further explain the term "high-tech" as one being used in architectural circles to
describe an increasing number of residences and public buildings with a "nuts-and-bolts,
exposed-pipes, technological look". A prime example of this is the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
This highlights one of the aims of high-tech architecture, to show the technical elements of the
building by externalizing them. Thus, the technical aspects create the building's aesthetic.
For interior design there was a trend of using formerly industrial appliances as household
objects, e.g. chemical beakers as vases for flowers. This was because of an aim to use an
industrial aesthetic. This was assisted by the conversion of former industrial spaces into
residential spaces. High-tech architecture aimed to give everything an industrial appearance.
Another aspect to the aims of high-tech architecture was that of a renewed belief in the power of
technology to improve the world. This is especially evident in Kenzo Tange's plans for
technically sophisticated buildings in Japan's post-war boom in the 1960s, but few of these plans
actually became buildings. High-tech architecture aimed to achieve a new industrial aesthetic,
spurred on by the renewed faith in the progression of technology.
But however prominent the industrial look appeared, the functional element of modern
architecture was very much retained. The pieces still served a purpose in the building's function.
The function of the building was also aimed as not being set. This dynamic property means that a
building should be a "catalyst", the "technical services are provided but do not become set."
Characteristics[edit]
The Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin opened in 1979.

Structure of high-tech architecture have varied somewhat, yet all have accentuated technical
elements. They included the prominent display of the building's technical and functional
components, and an orderly arrangement and use of pre-fabricated elements. Glass walls and
steel frames were also immensely popular.
To boast technical features, they were externalized, often along with load-bearing structures.
There can be no more illustrious example than Pompidou Centre. The ventilation ducts are all
prominently shown on the outside. This was a radical design, as previous ventilation ducts would
have been a component hidden on the inside of the building. The means of access to the building
is also on the outside, with the large tube allowing visitors to enter the building.
The orderly and logical fashion in which buildings in the high-tech architectural style are
designed to keep to their functional essence is demonstrated in Norman Foster's Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank HQ. Besides the technology being the overriding feature of the building, its
design is very much functionally orientated. The large interior open space and the easy access to
all floors enhance the function of being a bank. Also, the elements of the buildings are very
neatly composed to achieve optimal orderliness in order to logically solve the problem of the
needs of a bank. This can be seen in the levels' structure and in the escalators.
The high-tech buildings make persistent use of glass curtain walls and steel structure. It is greatly
indebted to modern architecture for this, and influenced by Mies van der Rohe's highrise
buildings. Bruce Graham's Willis Tower demonstrates that with glass walls and skeleton pipe
structure of steel, a very tall building can be built. Many high-tech buildings meant their
purposes to be dynamic. This could best be explained by Gnther Behnisch and Frei Otto's
Munich Olympic Stadium. This structure made sport in the open possible and is meant to be used
for many purposes. Originally an abandoned airfield, it is now a sport stadium, used for various
disciplines.
Buildings designed in this style usually consist of a clear glass faade, with the building's
network of support beams exposed behind it. Perhaps the most famous and easily recognized
building built in this style is I.M. Pei's Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. The World Trade
Center in New York City, although generally considered to be an International Style building,
was technically a Structural Expressionist design due to its load-bearing steel frame.
Examples[edit]
The Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building at the University of Toronto was completed in 2006.
Torre Agbar in Barcelona was completed in 2004.
BMA Tower, Kansas City, Missouri, United States (Bruce Graham, 1961)
Irvine Company headquarters, Newport Beach, California, United States (William

Pereira, 1968)
John Hancock Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States (Bruce Graham, 1969)
Willis Tower, Chicago, Illinois, United States (Bruce Graham, 1973)
Hopkins House, London, UK (Michael Hopkins and Partners, 1976)
World Trade Center, New York City, United States (Minoru Yamasaki, 1971) (destroyed
2001)
One US Bank Plaza, St. Louis, Missouri, United States (Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback
& Associates), 1976
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, 1977)
BNZ Centre, Wellington, New Zealand (Stephenson & Turner, 1983)
HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building, Hong Kong (Norman Foster, 1985)
Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom (Hopkins

Architects, 1985)
Lloyd's Building, London, United Kingdom (Richard Rogers, 1986)
Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong (I.M. Pei, 1989)
Hotel Arts, Barcelona, Spain (Bruce Graham, 1992)
ikov TV Tower, Prague, Czech Republic (1992)
Lord's Media Centre, London, United Kingdom (Future Systems, 1999)
City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom (Arup, 2002)
30 St. Mary Axe, London, United Kingdom (Norman Foster, 2003)
Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Spain (Jean Nouvel, 2005)
Hearst Tower, New York City, United States (Norman Foster, 2004)
Marquette Plaza, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (Gunnar Birkerts, 1973)
Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom (Norman Foster, 2006)
Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

(Norman Foster, 2006)
Diagonal Zero Zero, Barcelona, Spain (Enric Massip-Bosch, 2011)
Mercury City Tower, Moscow IBC, Russia (Frank Williams, 2013)
The Leadenhall Building, London, United Kingdom (Rogers + Stirk + Harbour, 2014)
High Tech (sau Hi-Tech)

High Tech inseamna inalta tehnologie in lb. engleza.
Prima cladire Hi-Tech este considerata a fi Muzeul de Arta Moderna din Paris, cunoscuta
si sub numele de Centre Pompidou. Constructia acesteia in Paris, in anii 80 a socat opinia
publica, chiar daca atribuirea concursului fusese facuta deja.
Parizienii au denumit-o Rafinaria intrucat beneficia de structura metalica aparenta care
in momentul respectiv nu se gasea decat la arhitectura industriala. Toate instalatiile sunt
vizibile, expuse, fapt intalnit deasemeni la rafinarii si fabrici de ciment.
Muzeul de Arta Moderna din Paris Centre Pompidou. Arh: Renzo Piano, Richard
Rogers, 1977, Foto: http://col89-marcelayme.ac-dijon.fr/?attachment_id=686
Totusi, exista o estetica a structurilor metalice, straina arhitecturii betonului armat, mult
mai apropiata de stiinta inginereasca a proiectarii metalului bazata pe elemente lineare,
stalpi, grinzi, contravantuiri.
Centre Georges Pompidou


"Beaubourg" redirects here. For other uses, see Beaubourg (disambiguation).
Centre Georges Pompidou
General information
Type
Culture and Leisure
Architectural style Postmodern / High-Tech

Location
Paris, France
Completed
19711977
Technical details
Structural system
Steel superstructure with reinforced

concrete floors
Design and construction
Architect
Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and

Gianfranco Franchini
Structural engineer Arup

Services engineer
Arup
Centre Georges Pompidou (French pronunciation: [st ppidu]; commonly shortened to

Centre Pompidou; also known as the Pompidou Centre in English) is a complex building in
the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the
Marais. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of Richard
Rogers and Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco Franchini.
It houses the Bibliothque publique d'information (Public Information Library), a vast public
library, the Muse National d'Art Moderne, which is the largest museum for modern art in
Europe, and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research. Because of its location, the
Centre is known locally as Beaubourg (IPA: [bobu]).[1][2][3] It is named after Georges Pompidou,
the President of France from 1969 to 1974 who commissioned the building, and was officially
opened on 31 January 1977 by President Valry Giscard d'Estaing. As of 2006, the Centre
Pompidou has had over 180 million visitors since 1977[4] and more than 5,209,678 visitors in
2013,[5] including 3,746,899 for the museum.[6]
The sculpture, Horizontal by Alexander Calder, a free-standing mobile that is twenty-five feet
high (7.6m), was placed in 2012 in front of the Centre Pompidou.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Architecture
o 2.1 Design
o 2.2 Construction
o 2.3 Stravinsky Fountain
o 2.4 Place Georges Pompidou
3 Attendance
o 3.1 Exhibitions
4 Expansion
o 4.1 Provincial branches
o 4.2 International expansion
4.2.1 Europe
4.2.2 Asia
4.2.3 North America
4.2.4 South America
5 Management
o 5.1 Presidents
o 5.2 Funding
6 Use in film and television
7 Public transport
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
History[edit]
The idea for a multicultural complex, bringing together in one place different forms of art and
literature, developed, in part, from the ideas of France's first Minister of Cultural Affairs, Andr
Malraux, a western proponent of the decentralization of art and culture by impulse of the
political power.[7] In the 1960s, city planners decided to move the foodmarkets of Les Halles,
historically significant structures long prized by Parisians, with the idea that some of the cultural
institutes be built in the former market area. Hoping to renew the idea of Paris as a leading city
of culture and art, it was proposed to move the Muse d'Art Moderne to this new location. Paris
also needed a large, free public library, as one did not exist at this time. At first the debate
concerned Les Halles, but as the controversy settled, in 1968, President Charles de Gaulle
announced the Plateau Beaubourg as the new site for the library. A year later in 1969, the new
president adopted the Beaubourg project and decided it to be the location of both the new library
and a centre for the contemporary arts. In the process of developing the project, the IRCAM
(Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) was also housed in the complex.
By the mid-1980s, the Centre Pompidou was becoming the victim of its huge and unexpected
popularity, its many activities, and a complex administrative structure. When Dominique Bozo
returned to the Centre in 1981 as Director of the Muse National d'Art Moderne, he re-installed
the museum, bringing out the full range of its collections and displayed the many major
acquisitions that had been made.[8] By 1992, the Centre de Cration Industrielle was incorporated
into the Centre Pompidou.
Since reopening in 2000 after a three-year renovation, the Centre Pompidou has improved the
logistics of a visit. Visitors can only access the escalators if they pay to enter the museum.[9]
Architecture[edit]
Design[edit]
Building technology
The Centre was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano; British architect Richard Rogers; and
Italian architect Gianfranco Franchini, assisted by Ove Arup & Partners.[10] The project was
awarded to this team in an architectural design competition, whose results were announced in
1971. It was the first time in France that international architects were allowed to participate.
World-renowned architects Oscar Niemeyer, Jean Prouv and Philip Johnson made up the jury
which would select one design out of the 681 entries.[11]
National Geographic described the reaction to the design as "love at second sight."[12] An article
in Le Figaro declared "Paris has its own monster, just like the one in Loch Ness." But two
decades later, while reporting on Rogers' winning the Pritzker Prize in 2007, The New York
Times noted that the design of the Centre "turned the architecture world upside down" and that
"Mr. Rogers earned a reputation as a high-tech iconoclast with the completion of the 1977
Pompidou Centre, with its exposed skeleton of brightly coloured tubes for mechanical
systems. The Pritzker jury said the Pompidou "revolutionized museums, transforming what had
once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the
heart of the city.".[13]
Initially, all of the functional structural elements of the building were colour-coded: green pipes
are plumbing, blue ducts are for climate control, electrical wires are encased in yellow, and
circulation elements and devices for safety (e.g., fire extinguishers) are red.[14]
Construction[edit]
The Centre was built by GTM and completed in 1977.[15] The building cost 993 million 1972
French francs. Renovation work conducted from October 1996 to January 2000 was completed
on a budget of 576 million 1999 francs.[14]
Building specifications[14]
Land area
2 hectares (5 acres)
Floor area
103,305 m2
Superstructure
7 levels
Height
42 m (Rue Beaubourg side), 45.5 m (Piazza side)
Length
166 m
Width
60 m
Infrastructure
Dimensions
3 levels
Depth: 18 m; Length: 180 m; Width: 110 m
Materials used[14]
Earthworks
300,000 m3
Reinforced concrete
50,000 m3
Metal framework
15,000 tonnes of steel
Faades, glass surfaces
11,000 m2
Opaque surfaces
7,000 m2
Stravinsky Fountain[edit]
Main article: Stravinsky Fountain
The nearby Stravinsky Fountain (also called the Fontaine des automates), on Place Stravinsky,
features sixteen whimsical moving and water-spraying sculptures by Jean Tinguely and Niki de
Saint-Phalle, which represent themes and works by composer Igor Stravinsky. The black-painted
mechanical sculptures are by Tinguely, the colored works by de Saint-Phalle. The fountain
opened in 1983.[16]
Video footage of the fountain appeared frequently throughout the French language telecourse,
French in Action.
Place Georges Pompidou[edit]
The Place Georges Pompidou in front of the museum is noted for the presence of street
performers, such as mimes and jugglers. In the spring, miniature carnivals are installed
temporarily into the place in front with a wide variety of attractions: bands, caricature and sketch
artists, tables set up for evening dining, and even skateboarding competitions.
Attendance[edit]
Pablo Picasso's works
The Centre Pompidou was intended to handle 8,000 visitors a day.[17] In its first two decades it
attracted more than 145 million visitors, more than five times the number first predicted.[18] As of
2006, more than 180 million people have visited the centre since its opening in 1977.[4] However,
until the 1997-2000 renovation, 20 percent of the centre's eight million annual visitorsin the
main foreign touristsrode the escalators up the outside of the building to the platform for the
sights.[19]
Since 2006, the global attendance of the centre is no more calculated at the main entrance, but
only the one of the Muse National d'Art Moderne and of the public library (5,209,678 visitors
for both in 2013),[6] but without the other visitors of the building (929,431 in 2004 or 928,380 in
2006, for only the panorama tickets or cinemas, festivals, lectures, bookshops, workshops,
restaurants, etc.).[4]
The Muse National d'Art Moderne itself saw an increase in attendance from 3.1 million (2010)
to 3.6 million visitors in 2011[20] and 3.75 million in 2013.[6]
The 2013 retrospective "Dal" broke the museums daily attendance record; 7,364 people a day
went to see the artists work (790,000 in total).[21]
Exhibitions[edit]
Several major exhibitions are organized each year on either the first or sixth floors. Among them,
many monographs:[22]
Paul Davis
(1977)
Francis Bacon
(1996)
Henri Michaux
(1978)
Fernand
Lger (1997)
Dal (1979)
Pollock (1982)
David
Hockney
(1998)
Philip Guston
Herg (2006)
tienne
Martin (2010)
Annette
Messager
(2007)
Lucian Freud
(2010)
Richard
Rogers (2007)
Arman (2010)
Samuel
Beckett
Franois
Morellet
Bonnard
(1984)
Kandinsky
(1984)
tienne
Martin (1984)
(2000)
Picasso (2000)
Jean Dubuffet
(2001)
Roland
Barthes
(2002)
Klee (1985)
Cy Twombly
(1988)
Frank Stella
(1988)
Nicolas de
Stal (2003)
Andy Warhol
(1990)
Sophie Calle
(2003)
Max Ernst
(1991)
Cocteau
(2003)
Matisse
(1993)
Philippe
Starck (2003)
Joseph Beuys
(1994)
Max
Beckmann
(2002)
(2007)
David
Claerbout
(2007)
Julio Gonzlez
(2007)
Alberto
Giacometti
(2007)
(2011)
Edvard Munch
(2011)
Gerhard
Richter (2012)
Salvador Dal
(2013)
Louise
Bourgeois
(2008)
Roy
Lichtenstein
(2013)
Pol Abraham
(2008)
Mike Kelley
(2013)
Tatiana
Trouv (2008)
Pierre Huyghe
(2013)
Henri CartierBresson
(2014)
Simon Hanta
(2014)
Jean
Gourmelin
(2008)
Jeff Koons
(2014)
Mona Hatoum
(2015)
Miroslav Tichy
(2008)
Dominique
Perrault
(2008)
Mir (2004)
Kurt
Schwitters
(1994)
Aurelie
Nemours
(2004)
Gerard
Gasiorowski
(1995)
Charlotte
Perriand
(2005)
Jacques
Villegl (2008)
Wifredo Lam
(2015)
Brncui
(1995)
Robert
Rauschenberg
(2006)
Ron Arad
(2008)
Sanejouand
(1995)
Alexander
Calder (2009)
Dominique
GonzalezFoerster
(2015)
Bob Morris
(1995)
Philippe
Parreno
(2009)
Claude Closky
(2006)
Jean-Luc
Godard (2006)
Yves Klein
(2006)
Kandinski
(2009)
Pierre
Soulages
(2009)
Expansion[edit]
Provincial branches[edit]
Main article: Centre Pompidou-Metz
The Centre Pompidou-Metz.
In 2010, the Centre Georges Pompidou opened a provincial branch, the Centre Pompidou-Metz,
in Metz a city 170 miles east of Paris. The new museum is part of an effort to expand the display
of contemporary arts beyond Paris's large museums. The new museum's building was designed
by the architect Shigeru Ban with a curving and asymmetrical pagoda-like roof topped by a spire
and punctured by upper galleries. The 77 meters central spire is a nod to the year the Centre
Georges Pompidou of Paris was built 1977. The Centre Pompidou-Metz displays unique,
temporary exhibitions from the collection of the Muse National d'Art Moderne, which is not on
display at the main Parisian museum. Since its inauguration, the institution has become the most
visited cultural venue in France outside Paris accommodating 550,000 visitors/year.[23][24]
Launched in 2011 in Chaumont, the museum for the first time went on the road to the French
provinces with a selection of works from the permanent collection. To do this, it designed and
constructed a mobile gallery, which, in the spirit of a circus, will strike camp for a few months at
a time in towns throughout the country.[25] However, in 2013, the Centre Pompidou halted its
mobile-museum project because of the cost.[26]
In 2014, plans were released for a temporary satellite of the Centre Pompidou in the northern
French town of Maubeuge close to the Belgian border. The 3,000 square meters outpost, to be
designed by the architects Pierre Hebbelinck and Pierre de Wit, is said to be located at the 17thcentury Maubeuge Arsenal for four years. The cost of the project is 5.8 million.[27]
In 2015, the city authorities in Libourne, a town in southwestern France, proposed a Pompidou
branch housed in a former military base called Esog.[28]
International expansion[edit]
Europe[edit]
Branch in Mlaga (Spain)
In 2015, around 70 works from the Centre Pompidou's collection are planned to go on show in a
temporary glass-and-steel structure called The Cube (El Cubo) in Mlaga. According to the
Spanish newspaper El Pas, the annual 1 million cost of the five-year project will be funded by
the city council.[29] The partnership with Mlaga was announced by the city's mayor but was not
confirmed by Pompidou Centre president Alain Seban until April 24, 2014.[30] Around 100 works
from the Pompidous 20th and 21st century collection will be installed in the 2,000 square metres
(22,000 square feet) space for two years, while a smaller area will be used for temporary
exhibitions. Portraiture and the influence of Picasso will be among the subjects explored in the
permanent display, organized by the Pompidous deputy director Brigitte Leal. Highlights will
include works by Alberto Giacometti, Ren Magritte, Alexander Calder and Constantin
Brancusi, and contemporary works by Sophie Calle, Bruce Nauman and Orlan. The city of
Mlaga also commissioned Daniel Buren to create a large-scale installation within El Cubo.[31]
The city of Mlaga will pay the Centre Pompidou 1 million a year for the brand and the use of
the collection.[31]
Asia[edit]
In a joint proposal with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presented in 2005, the Centre
Pompidou planned to build a museum of modern and contemporary art, design and the media
arts in Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District.[32] In 2007, the then president Bruno Racine
announced plans to open a museum carrying the Pompidou's name in Shanghai, with its
programming to be determined by the Pompidou. The location chosen for the new museum was a
former fire station in the Luwan district's Huaihai Park. However, the scheme never materialized,
reportedly due to the lack of a legal framework for a non-profit foreign institution to operate in
China.[33] Other projects include the Pompidous joint venture with the King Abdulaziz Centre for
World Culture, an arts complex incorporating a museum in Dhahran, the building of which has
stalled.[26]
North America[edit]
In April 2014, Pompidou president Alain Seban confirmed that after Mlaga, Spain, Mexico will
be the next site for a pop-up Pompidou Centre.[30]
South America[edit]
There have been rumors of a pop-up Pompidou satellite museum in Brazil since Alain Seban
announced the plan for these temporary locations back in 2012.[33] At a talk on satellite museums
at the Guggenheim on April 24, 2014, Alain Seban suggested that Brazil may be the third country
to a host a temporary satellite museum, after Spain and Mexico.[30]
Management[edit]
Presidents[edit]
since 2015: Serge Lasvignes
2007 - 2015: Alain Seban
2002 - 2007: Bruno Racine
1996 - 2002: Jean-Jacques Aillagon
1993 - 1996: Franois Barr
1991 - 1993: Dominique Bozo
1989 - 1991: Hlne Ahrweiler
1983 - 1989: Jean Maheu
1980 - 1983: Jean-Claude Groshens
1977 - 1980: Jean Millier
1976 - 1977: Robert Bordaz
Funding[edit]
Part of the expositions in the Centre
As a national museum, the Centre Pompidou is government-owned and subsidized by the

ministry of Culture (64,2% of its budget in 2012 : 82,8 on 129 million ), essentially for its staff.
The Culture Ministry appoints its directors and controls its gestion, which is nevertheless
independent, as Etablissement public caractre administratif since its creation. In 2011, the
museum earned $1.9 million from traveling exhibitions.[34]
Established in 1977 as the institution's US philanthropic arm, the Georges Pompidou Art and
Culture Foundation acquires and encourages major gifts of art and design for exhibition at the
museum.[35][36] Since 2006, the non-profit support group has brought in donations of 28 works,
collectively valued at more than $14 million, and purchased many others.[37] In 2013, New Yorkbased art collectors Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner announced their intention to
donate about 300 works by 27 European and international artists to the Centre Pompidou,
thereby making one of the largest gifts in the institutions history.[38]
Use in film and television[edit]
Gordon Matta-Clark Conical Intersect, 1975. Matta-Clarks contribution to the

Paris Biennale 1975.[39]
Roberto Rossellini, Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture, 1977.[40] A

documentary about the Centre which explores the building and its
surroundings on its opening day. It was Rossellini's final film.
Lewis Gilbert, Moonraker, 1979. A fifth floor room of the building featured as
the office of Holly Goodhead (played by Lois Chiles), in the 1979 James Bond
film Moonraker, which in the film was scripted as being part of the space
station of the villainous Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale).[41]
Electric Light Orchestra, "Calling America" music video, 1986. ELO is shown
performing the song in front of the Centre.
Claude Pinoteau, L'tudiante, 1988.
Richard Berry, L'Art (dlicat) de la sduction, 2001.
James Ivory, Le Divorce, 2003.
Laurent Tirard, Mensonges et trahisons, 2004.
ric et Ramzy, Seuls Two, 2008.
Muzeul de Arta Moderna din Paris Centre Pompidou. Arh: Renzo Piano, Richard
Rogers, 1977
Arhitectii Richard Rogers si Renzo Piano au devenit astfel pionieri ai unui nou curent
arhitectural, care promova expunerea structurii metalice si a instalatiilor, in modul cel mai
sincer si transparent, facandu-l pe beneficiar constient de adevarata natura a constructiei,
alcatuirea anatomica si efortul de proiectare si integrare al tuturor tehnologiilor intr-un
produs final, cladirea.
Cladirea Lloyds din Londra. Arh Richard Rogers.

Exista o anumita teatralitate in arhitectura High Tech, mai ales ca uneori tehnologia in
sine este inventata, reinventata, supradimensionata, modificata, pentru a corespunde
exigentelor estetice sau compozitionale ale arhitectului.
Arhitecti ca Normann Foster au ales insa sa puna un mai mare accent pe prezentarea
structurii decat pe cea a tevilor si a instalatiei, deoarece exista o mai puternica legatura
intre structura si imaginea arhitecturala decat intre instalatii si arhitectura.
Macro-structura, explicitarea schemei statice, sistemele de contravantuiri, toate devin

mijloace compozitionale, fiind in mod special puse in evidenta pentru a asigura privitorul
asupra gradului de siguranta structurala.
Banca Chinei din Hong Kong. Arh Norman Foster.

Stilul Hi-Tech trece prin mai multe perioade, insa la finalul sec XX, arhitecti ca Rafael
Vinoly reusesc sa creeze spatii remarcabile, extrem de dramatice, bazandu-se pe
mijloacele structurale specifice metalului pentru a face spectacol.
Tokyo International Forum Arh. Rafael Vinoly. Foto:

http://matsu.teraren.com/portfolio/tokyo-international-forum-2.html
Sisteme structurale de fatada la Tokyo International Forum. Sursa: Greatbuildings.com
Tokyo International Forum. Foto:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8291/7715426372_a7f8e8b7af_b.jpg
Cldire
Ora
Hong Kong
ar
Republica Popular Chinez
Adres
Garden Road[*], 1
Coordonate
221645N
1140941E22.279166666667N
114.16138888889E
Echipa de design
Arhitect
Ieoh Ming Pei
Inginer
structural
Leslie E. Robertson Associates[*]

Modific date / text
Cldire
Ora
Hong Kong
ar
Republica Popular Chinez
Adres
Garden Road[*], 1
Coordonate
221645N
1140941E22.279166666667N
114.16138888889E
Echipa de design
Arhitect
Ieoh Ming Pei
Inginer
structural
Leslie E. Robertson Associates[*]

Modific date / text
Bank of China
Bank of China Tower este cel mai renumit zgrie-nori din Hong Kong.
Creat de ctre arhitectul I. M. Pei, cldirea are 315 m nlime, iar mpreun cu cele dou antene
ajunge la nlimea de 369 m. Cldirea construit ntre 1985 i 1990, a fost inaugurat la 17 mai
1990.
A fost cea mai nalt cldire din Hong Kong i Asia ntre anii 1989 - 1992 i prima cldire din
afara SUA care a depit pragul de 305 m nlime, adic 1.000 de picioare nlime.
Hotel Arts
Hotel Arts
Hotel Arts by night
Location in Barcelona
General information
Status
Complete
Type
Hotel
Location
Carrer de la Marina, 19 Barcelona,

Catalonia, Spain
412312N 21146E /
41.38667N 2.19611E /
Coordinates Coordinates:
412312N
21146E / 41.38667N 2.19611E

/
Constructio
n started
1992
Completed 1994
Owner
Host Hotels & Resorts, ABP
Managemen
t
Ritz-Carlton
Height
Roof
154 m (505 ft)

Technical details
Floor count 44
Architect
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
The Hotel Arts is a 44-storey, 483 room luxury hotel on the seafront of Barcelona, in Catalonia,
Spain.
Contrary to popular belief, it was not built to service the 1992 Summer Olympics, though its
construction was part of the big changes underwent by the city to prepare the Games. It is
operated by Ritz-Carlton.
Construction was finished in 1994 and it is an example of High-tech architecture.[1] It is 154
metres tall and was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with Colombian Architect Bruce
Graham as partner in charge.[2] The design team was led by Senior Architect Miguel Ruano, with
Dr Agust Obiol as local Architect of Record.
The hotel underwent a complete renovation in 2006, installing new technology and upgrading the
rooms and bathrooms into modern, luxurious spaces.
Hotel Arts is set on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, its pool is surrounded by gardens and
offers guests the chance to sunbathe next to one of Barcelonas most famous pieces of
contemporary public arta monumental golden fish-like sculpture by Frank Gehry, which was
created for the 92 Games.
ikov Television Tower

ikov Television Tower
ikov TV Tower
General information
Location
Prague, Czech Republic
Construction started
1985
Completed
1992
Height
Antenna spire
216 metres

Architect
Structural engineer
Vclav Aulick
Ji Kozk
The ikov Television Tower (Czech: ikovsk vysla) is a unique transmitter tower built in
Prague between 1985 and 1992. Designed by the architect Vclav Aulick and the structural
engineer Ji Kozk,[1] it stands high above the city's traditional skyline from its position on top of
a hill in the district of ikov, from which it takes its name. The tower is an example of high-tech
architecture.
Contents
[hide]
1 Characteristics
2 Reputation
3 Last changes
o 3.1 David ern sculptures
o 3.2 Restaurant
o 3.3 Illumination
o 3.4 esk Radiokomunikace TOWER Datacenter

o 3.5 Luxury Room
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Characteristics[edit]
The tower with crawling "babies"
The tower from the city center

The structure of the tower is unconventional, based on a triangle whose corners are growing up
in steel columns, consisting of three tubes with a double steel wall, filled with concrete. They
support nine 'pods' and three decks for transmitting equipment. One of the three pillars extends
considerably higher than the others, and this provides both the necessary height for some
antennas, along with the structure's rocket and gantry appearance. In its time it was a unique
technology, which authors have patented. In total, the tower stands 216 metres (709 feet) high.
Three of the pods, positioned directly beneath the decks at the top of the tower, are used for
equipment related to the tower's primary function and are inaccessible to the public. The
remaining six pods are open to visitors, the highest of which are observation rooms at 100 metres
(328 feet), providing a panoramic view of Prague and the surrounding area. The lower three,
approximately half-way up the length of the pillars at 63 metres (207 feet), house a recently
refurbished restaurant and caf bar. Elevators, equipped with speedometers, transport passengers
to the different levels at a rate of 4 m/s. The tower weighs 11,800 tons and is also used as a
meteorological observatory. It is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.
Reputation[edit]
Like many examples of communist-era architecture in Central and Eastern Europe, the TV tower
used to be generally resented by the local inhabitants. It also received a spate of nicknames,
mostly alluding to its rocket-like shape, e.g. "Baikonur" after Soviet cosmodrome, "Pershing"
after the US IRBM, some more political, like "Jakev prst" (Jake's finger, after the Secretary
General of the Czechoslovak Communist Party), etc. Although official criticism during the time
of its construction was impossible, unofficially the tower was lambasted for its 'megalomania', its
'jarring' effect on the Prague skyline, and for destroying part of a centuries-old Jewish cemetery
situated near the tower's foundations. However, the official line remains that the cemetery was
moved some time before the tower was conceived. Recently, the tower's reputation among
Czechs has improved.[2]
Rumours have also circulated[citation needed] that the tower was planned to be used to jam incoming
western radio and television transmissions (particularly Radio Free Europe) and that it had a
potential use as a communications facility for Warsaw Pact forces in the event of an attack on (or
attack by) NATO.
Today the tower attracts visitors focusing on the tower's technological innovations and great
view over city skyline.
Last changes[edit]
Detail of "Babies" on the tower
The tower at night
David ern sculptures[edit]

In 2000, sculptures by Czech artist David ern of babies crawling up and down were
temporarily attached to the tower's pillars. The sculptures were admired by many and were
returned in 2001 as a permanent installation.
Restaurant[edit]
The restaurant 'Chef Ondrej Soukup' features a range of cuisines from their specialty neck of
lamb to French and Asian.[3]
Illumination[edit]
Since 2006, to mark the 125th anniversary of elevation of ikov into city and the 15th
anniversary of the commissioning of the transmitter, the transmitter is illuminated in different
colors every day, usually in the colors of the state tricolor.[4]
esk Radiokomunikace TOWER Datacenter[edit]

After switching to digital TV broadcasting and removing the old analogue broadcast equipment,
the owner decided to use the free space for a new colocation datacenter with capacity for 64
racks.[5]
Luxury Room[edit]
On 13 February 2013 a luxury one room hotel was added to the tower. The room sits upstairs
from the reopened restaurant and a spiral staircase provides private access. Inside the room is a
large bed and a free standing bath from where the guest can view the city.[6]
Lord's Media Centre
The Lord's Media Centre, officially known as the J.P. Morgan Media Centre for sponsorship
reasons, is a building at Lord's Cricket Ground, London.
History[edit]
A view of the interior of the media centre
It was designed by Future Systems[1] and cost about 5 million.[1] The Media Centre, which was
built by Pendennis Shipyard from the UK in combination with Centraalstaal from The
Netherlands,[1] was commissioned in time for the 1999 Cricket World Cup and was the first all
aluminium, semi-monocoque building in the world. It was built and fitted-out in two boatyards
and utilises boat-building technology. It has only one opening window, which is in the
broadcasting box occupied by BBC Test Match Special.[2] The fact that the structure was built by
a shipyard is betrayed by the internal doors having rounded corners similar to those in many
ships. Such a door is visible in the background of the photo of the Media Centre interior.
The centre stands 15 metres above the ground and its sole support comes from the structure
around its two lift shafts it is approximately the same height as the Pavilion directly opposite it
on the other side of the ground. The lower tier of the centre provides accommodation for over
100 journalists and the top tier has radio and television commentary boxes. The Building was
awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 1999.
Originally sponsored by NatWest, in 2007 sponsorship was taken over by Investec. Since 31
May 2011, the media centre has been sponsored by J.P Morgan.[3]
City of Manchester Stadium


Not to be confused with Docklands Stadium, also named Etihad Stadium, in Melbourne,
Australia.
Etihad Stadium
Etihad Stadium in 2015

UEFA stadium category:
Etihad Campus
Location
Manchester
M11 3FF
532859N 2121W53.48306N
Coordinates
2.20028WCoordinates:
532859N
2121W53.48306N 2.20028W
Public transit
Owner
Operator
Executive suites
Etihad Campus tram stop

Velopark tram stop
Manchester City Council
Manchester City F.C.
70
41,000 2002 Commonwealth Games
Capacity
55,097 Domestic football[1]

53,000 UEFA-governed football
60,000 Music concerts
Record attendance
Field size
Surface
54,693 (Manchester City vs Leicester,

6th February 2016)
115 by 74 yards (105 by 68 m)
Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground
Opened
12 December 1999
25 July 2002 (as athletics stadium)
10 August 2003 (as football stadium)
Renovated
20022003 (converted to current use)
Expanded
20142015 (47,400 to 55,097 seats)

112 million (athletics stadium)
Construction cost 22 million (football conversion)

20 million (football fit-out)
Architect
ArupSport (stadium design)

KSS Design Group (interior fitout)
Populous (stadium expansion)

Structural
Arup Associates
engineer
Laing Construction Ltd. (initial

General contractor
construction),
Laing O'Rourke (stadium
conversion & later expansion)
Main contractors
Watson Steel Ltd. (initial steelwork

construction)
Tenants
Manchester City F.C. (2003-present)
Website
https://www.mcfc.co.uk/The-Club/Visiting-the-Stadium VISITS
https://www.mcfc.co.uk/The-Club/Business-directory OTHER
Major sporting events hosted

2002 Commonwealth Games
2005 UEFA Women's Championship
2008 UEFA Cup Final
Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano (2008 IBO world title)
2015 Rugby Union World Cup
Rugby League Magic Weekend 2012, 2013, 2014
Also see: Major concert events hosted
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium
for sponsorship reasons,[2] is the home ground of Manchester City Football Club and, with a
domestic football capacity of 55,097, is the third-largest stadium in the Premier League and
eighth-largest in the United Kingdom.[1]
Built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games,[3] the stadium has since staged the 2008 UEFA
Cup Final,[4] England football internationals,[5] rugby league matches,[6] a boxing world title fight,[7]
[4]
the England rugby union team's last match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup[8] and music concerts.
The stadium, originally proposed as an athletics arena in Manchester's bid for the 2000 Summer
Olympics,[9] was converted after the 2002 Commonwealth Games from a 38,000 capacity arena
to a 48,000 seat football stadium at a cost to the city council of 22 million and to Manchester
City of 20 million.[10][11] Manchester City F.C. have leased the stadium from Manchester City
Council since moving from their Maine Road ground in the summer of 2003.[12]
The stadium was built by Laing Construction at a cost of 112 million[13] and was designed and
engineered by ArupSport,[11] whose design incorporated a cable-stayed roof structure, suspended
by twelve exterior masts and attached cables.[14] The stadium design has received much praise and
many accolades, including an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2004 for its
innovative inclusive building design,[3] and a special award in 2003 from the Institution of
Structural Engineers for its unique structural design.[15]
In August 2015, a 7,000 seat third tier on the South Stand was completed, in time for the start of
the 201516 football season.[16] The expansion was designed to be in keeping with the existing
roof design. A North Stand third tier has planning approval and work on it is expected to begin
by 2017, increasing capacity to around 61,000.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
o 1.1 Background
o 1.2 2002 Commonwealth Games
o 1.3 Stadium conversion
o 1.4 Stadium expansion
2 Architecture
o 2.1 Iconic roof design
o 2.2 Facilities and pitch
3 Names
4 SportCity
o 4.1 Public sculpture
5 Stadium firsts
6 Reception
7 Etihad Campus
o 7.1 Etihad Campus and CFA

o 7.2 Community outreach / Urban regeneration
8 Transport
9 Other uses
o 9.1 Concerts
o 9.2 Other football events
o 9.3 Other sports
10 References
11 External links
History[edit]
Background[edit]
See also: Bids for the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics bids, and 2002
Commonwealth Games
Plans to build a new stadium in Manchester were formulated before 1989 as part of the city's bid
to host the 1996 Summer Olympics. Manchester City Council submitted a bid that included a
design for an 80,000-capacity stadium on a greenfield site west of Manchester city centre. The
bid failed and Atlanta hosted the Games. Four years later the city council bid to host the 2000
Summer Olympics, but this time focusing on a brownfield site 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) east of
the city centre on derelict land that was the site of Bradford Colliery,[17] known colloquially as
Eastlands. The council's shift in focus was driven by emerging government legislation on urban
renewal, promising vital support funding for such projects; the government became involved in
funding the purchase and clearance of the Eastlands site in 1992.[18]
For the February 1993 bid the city council submitted another 80,000-capacity stadium design[9]
produced by design consultants Arup Associates, the firm that helped select the Eastlands site.
On 23 September 1993, the games were awarded to Sydney, but the following year Manchester
submitted the same scheme design to the Millennium Commission as a "Millennium Stadium",
only to have this proposal rejected. Undeterred, Manchester City Council subsequently bid to
host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, once again proposing the same site along with downsized
stadium plans derived from the 2000 Olympics bid, and this time were successful. In 1996, this
same planned stadium competed with Wembley Stadium to gain funding to become the new
national stadium,[19] but the money was used to redevelop Wembley.
After successful athletics events at the Commonwealth Games, conversion into a football venue
was criticised by athletics figures such as Jonathan Edwards and Sebastian Coe[20] as, at the time,
the United Kingdom still lacked plans for a large athletics venue due to the capability of
installing an athletics track having been dropped from the designs for a rebuilt Wembley
Stadium. Had either of the two larger stadium proposals developed by Arup been agreed for
funding, then Manchester would have ended up with a venue capable of being adapted to hosting
large-scale athletics events through the use of movable seating.
Sport England wished to avoid creating a white elephant, so they insisted that the City Council
agree to undertake and fund extensive work to convert CoMS from a track and field arena to a
football stadium, thereby ensuring its long-term financial viability. Sport England hoped either
Manchester City Council or Manchester City F.C. would provide the extra 50 million required
to convert the stadium to a 65,000 seater athletics and footballing venue with movable seating.[21]
However, Manchester City Council did not have the money to facilitate movable seating and
Manchester City were lukewarm about the idea.[22] Stadium architects Arup Sport believed history
demonstrated that maintaining a rarely used athletics track often does not work with football
and cited examples such as the Stadio delle Alpi and the Munich Olympic Stadium, with both
Juventus and Bayern Munich moving to new stadiums less than 40 years after inheriting them.[23]
2002 Commonwealth Games[edit]

See also: 2002 Commonwealth Games
Model of 80,000-seat stadium used in 2000 Olympic Bid. The proposed stadium was a larger
design of CoMS, with more access ramps and masts.
The stadium's foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Tony Blair in December 1999,[24] and
construction began in January 2000.[25] The stadium was designed by Arup Associates and
constructed by Laing Construction at a cost of approximately 112 million,[13][11] 77 million of
which was provided by Sport England, with the remainder funded by Manchester City Council.[26]
For the Commonwealth Games, the stadium featured a single lower tier of seating running
around three sides of the athletics track, and second tiers to the two sides, with an open-air
temporary stand at the northern end; initially providing a seating capacity for the Games of
38,000, subsequently extended to 41,000 through the installation of additional temporary
trackside seating along the east and south stands.[27]
The first public event at the stadium was the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth
Games on 25 July 2002. Among the dignitaries present was Queen Elizabeth II who made a
speech, delivered to her in an electronic baton, and 'declared the Commonwealth Games open'.[28]
During the following ten days of competition, the stadium hosted the track and field events and
all the rugby sevens matches. Sixteen new Commonwealth Games track and field[29] records (six
men's and ten women's) were set in the stadium,[30] eight of which (three men's and five women's
records) are still extant after three subsequent series of Games in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Prior to
the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, the 2002 Games was the largest multi-sport event
ever to be staged in the UK, eclipsing the earlier London 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of
teams and competing athletes (3,679),[31] and it was the world's first multi-sport tournament to
include a limited number of full medal events for elite athletes with a disability (EAD).[32][33] In
terms of number of participating nations, it is still the largest Commonwealth Games in history,
featuring 72 nations competing in 281 events across seventeen (fourteen individual and three
team) sports.[31]
Stadium conversion[edit]
Stadium conversion[edit]
The Commonwealth Games configuration had two tiers of seats
During conversion, the athletics track was excavated and the stadium pitch level
reduced to create three tiers
Sections of the track were removed and relaid at other athletics venues,[34] and the internal ground
level was lowered to make way for an additional tier of seating, on terracing already constructed
then buried for the original configuration. The two temporary stands with a total capacity of
16,000 were dismantled, and replaced with a permanent structure of similar design to the existing
one at the southern end. This work took nearly a year to complete[35] and added 23,000 permanent
seats, increasing the capacity of the converted stadium by 7,000[36] to approximately 48,000.[10]
Manchester City F.C. moved to the ground in time for the start of the 200304 season.[12] The
total cost of this conversion was in excess of 40 million, with the track, pitch and seating
conversion being funded by the city council at a cost of 22 million;[13][11] and the installation of
bars, restaurants and corporate entertainment areas throughout the stadium being funded by the
football club at a cost of 20 million.[13][11] The Games had made a small operating surplus, and
Sport England agreed that this could be reinvested in converting the athletics warm-up track
adjacent to the main stadium into the 6,000 seat Manchester Regional Arena at a cost of 3.5m.
Stadium expansion[edit]
South Stand after expansion in 2015
The stadium is owned by Manchester City Council and leased by the football club. The 2008
takeover made the football club one of the wealthiest in the world,[37] prompting suggestions that
it could consider buying the stadium outright.[38] Manchester City signed an agreement with
Manchester City Council in March 2010 to allow a 1 billion redevelopment led by architect
Rafael Violy.[39]
During the 2010 closed season the football pitch and hospitality areas were renovated, with a 1
million investment being made in the playing surface so that it is better able to tolerate concerts
and other events without damage.[40] In October 2010, Manchester City renegotiated the stadium
lease, obtaining the naming rights to the stadium in return for agreeing to now pay the City
Council an annual fixed sum of 3 million where previously it had only paid half of the ticket
sales revenue from match attendances exceeding 35,000.[41] This new agreement occurred as part
of a standard 5-year review of the original lease and it amounts to an approximate 1 million
annual increase in council revenues from the stadium.[41] During 2011-14 the club sold all 36,000
of its allocated season tickets each season[42] and experienced an average match attendance that is
very close to its maximum seating capacity (see table in previous section). Consequently, during
the 2014-15 season an expansion of the stadium was undertaken. The South Stand was extended
with the addition of a third tier which, in conjunction with an additional three rows of pitch side
seating, increased stadium capacity to approximately 55,000.[43] Construction commenced on the

South Stand in April 2014 and was completed for the start of the 2015-16 season.[44]
A final phase of expansion, that received planning approval at the same time as the others but
which remains unscheduled, will add a matching third tier of seats to the North Stand. Once this
last phase is completed it will bring the stadium's total seating capacity up to approximately
61,000, making the Etihad Stadium the nation's second largest capacity club ground.[45]
Architecture[edit]
It's the roller-coaster roof, visible from miles around, that is the big giveaway. It has a similar lightweight
canopy that swoops up and down over the stands in one almost continuous wave. Held up by nothing more
than thread-like cables, this is structural gymnastics of the most exhilarating kind, vastly superior to the clunky
steel trusses that conventionally support stadium roofs.
Martin Spring, Building magazine (2002)
[46]
Rear view of the South Stand in 2015. Two sets of masts and steel cabling suspend
both the new South Stand roof and the catenary cable supporting roofs on the other
three sides
When planning the development, Manchester City Council required a sustainable landmark
structure that would be an icon for the regeneration of the once heavily industrialised site
surrounding Bradford Colliery, as well as providing spectators with good sightlines in an
atmospheric arena.[35] Arup Associates designed the stadium to be "an intimate, even intimidating,
gladiatorial arena embodying the atmosphere of a football club" with the pitch six metres below
ground level, a feature of Roman gladiatorial arenas and amphitheatres.[35] The attention to detail,
often absent in stadium design, has been remarked upon, including the cigar-shaped roof
supports with blue lighting beacons, sculpted rainwater gutters, poly-carbonate perimeter roof
edging and openable louvres to aid pitch grass growth with similarities also made to High-tech
architecture.[27]
Iconic roof design[edit]
The toroidal-shaped stadium roof is held together by a tensioned system, which has been
described as "ground-breaking" by New Steel Construction magazine.[14] The stadium's
architectural focal point is the sweeping roof and support masts which are separate from the
concrete bowl.[14] A catenary cable is situated around the inner perimeter of the roof structure
which is tied to the masts via forestay cables. Backstay cables and corner ties from the masts are
connected to the ground to support the structure.[14] With the expansion of the South Stand in
2015 to accommodate a third tier of seating, the original south end roof was dismantled; but with
the southern masts and corner ties remaining, so as to continue to tie the catenary cable which
now runs below the new roof. The new higher South Stand roof is a separate structure, with its
own set of braced masts and cables; and it is expected that a counterpart arrangement will be
adopted for the proposed North Stand expansion.
Cables are attached to the twelve masts circling the stadium with rafters and purlins for
additional rigid support.[14] The cigar-shaped masts double as visual features, with the highest at
70 metres (230 ft).[47] Access to the upper tiers of seats is provided by eight circular ramps with
conical roofs resembling turrets above which eight of the twelve masts rise up providing the
support structure for the roof.[15]
The roof of the south, east and west stands built for the athletics stadium configuration was
supported by the cable net system. The temporary open stand at the north end was built around
the masts and tie down cables that would ultimately support the roof of the North Stand.[14] After
the games the track and field were excavated. The temporary bleachers at the north end were
removed and the North Stand and lower tier of seats constructed on the prepared excavation. The
North Stand roof was completed by adding rafters, purlins and cladding.[14]
Facilities and pitch[edit]
The stadium has facilities for players and match officials in a basement area below the west
stand, which also contains a kitchen providing meals for up to 6,000 people on match days, press
rooms, ground staff storage, and a prison cell.[35] The stadium also has conference facilities and is
licensed for marriage ceremonies.[48] Fitting out of the hospitality suites, kitchens, offices, and
concourse concessions was accomplished by KSS Architects, and included the installation of the
communications cabling and automatic access control system.[35]
The stadium's interior comprises a continuous oval bowl, with three tiers of seating at the sides,
and two tiers at each end. Entry by patrons is gained by contactless smart card rather than
traditional manned turnstiles. The system can admit up to 1,200 people per minute through all
entrances.[49] A service tunnel under the stadium provides access for emergency vehicles and the
visiting team's coach to enter the stadium directly. Once inside the stadium patrons have access
to six themed restaurants, two of which have views of the pitch, and there are 70 executive
boxes[50] above the second tier of seating in the north, west and east stands.
To create the optimum grass playing surface in the stadium bowl, the roof was designed to
maximise sunlight by using a ten-metre band of translucent polycarbonate at its periphery.[51]
Additionally, each of the corners of the stadium without seating have perforated walls with
moveable louvres that can be adjusted to provide ventilation of the grass and general airflow
through the stadium.[52] Drainage and under-pitch heating were installed to provide optimum
growing conditions for the grass.[35] The pitch has a UEFA standard dimension of 105 by 68
metres (115 by 74 yd).[50] and is covered with natural grass reinforced by artificial fibres made by
Desso.[53] The field of play is lit by 218 2000-watt floodlights, consuming a total of 436,000
watts.[54] The grass playing surface is recognised as being one of the best in English football, and
has been nominated five times in the last nine seasons for best Premier League pitch, an accolade
it won in 201011[55] among other awards.[56]
Names[edit]
Panorama of north end of stadium as viewed from southern approach along Joe
Mercer Way
Main entrance to Colin Bell Stand on west side of stadium
The stadium was named the City of Manchester Stadium by Manchester City Council before
construction began in December 1999,[24] but has a number of commonly used alternatives. City
of Manchester Stadium is abbreviated to CoMS when written and spoken. Eastlands refers to the
site and the stadium before they were named SportCity and CoMS respectively, and remains in
common usage[2] for both the stadium and the whole complex, as does SportCity but with less
frequency.[57] The stadium was also officially referred to as Manchester City Stadium for the 2015
Rugby World Cup. The football club, under its new ownership, renegotiated its 250-year lease
with the city council in October 2010, gaining the naming rights[11] in return for a substantial
increase in rent.[13][41] The stadium was renamed the Etihad Stadium by the club in July 2011 as
part of a ten-year agreement with the team kit sponsors Etihad Airways.[2] The agreement
encompasses sponsorship of the stadium's name,[58] extends the team kit sponsorship for ten
years,[59] and includes plans to relocate the club's youth academy and training facilities to the City
Football Academy[60] on a new campus development adjacent to the stadium.[61]
Despite being a continuous oval bowl, each side of the stadium is named in the manner of a
traditional football ground. All sides were initially named by compass direction (North Stand and
South Stand for the ends, East Stand and West Stand for the sides).[62] In February 2004, after a
vote by fans, the West Stand was renamed the Colin Bell Stand in honour of the former player.[63]
The vote was almost cancelled (and the stand instead named after Joe Mercer) due to suspicions
it had been hijacked by rival fans who wished to dub the renamed stand The Bell End. However,
core supporters of the club made it clear they still wished the stand named after their hero.[63] The
East Stand is unofficially known by fans as the Kippax as a tribute to the very vocal east stand at
the club's Maine Road ground.[62][64]
The North Stand is the only part of the stadium built after the Commonwealth Games, during the
stadium's conversion. The temporary unroofed north stand it replaced had been dubbed the New
Gene Kelly Stand by supporters, a reference to the unroofed corner between the Kippax and the
North Stand at the club's former Maine Road home, because, being exposed to the elements, they
frequently found themselves "singing in the rain."[65] Commencing season 201011, seating in the
North Stand has been restricted to only supporters accompanied by children, resulting in this end
of the ground now being commonly referred to as the Family Stand. Although the North Stand
has never been officially renamed and is still frequently referenced that way,[66] most external
ticketing offices and stadium guides,[67] in addition to the club itself,[68] now preferentially label
and refer to this section of the ground as the Family Stand when discussing seating and ticket
sales. Supporters initially dubbed the South Stand the Scoreboard End (the former name of the
North Stand at Maine Road), and it houses the majority of City's more vocal fans. Supporters of
visiting teams are also normally allocated seats in this stand.[69] From 2003 to 2006 it was
renamed the Key 103 Stand for sponsorship reasons, though this was largely ignored by regular
patrons.
SportCity[edit]
Aerial view of CoMS and adjacent Manchester Regional Arena in 2012
The stadium is the centrepiece of SportCity, which includes several other nationally important
sporting venues. Adjacent to the stadium is the Manchester Regional Arena, which served as a
warm-up track during the Commonwealth Games and is now a 6,178-capacity venue that hosts
national athletics trials,[70] but has previously also hosted the home games of both the Manchester
City women's team and the club's U21 reserve team. The Regional Arena has regularly hosted the
AAA Championships and Paralympic World Cup, and is currently the home ground of amateur
rugby league side Manchester Rangers.[71]
The National Squash Centre and the National Cycling Centre, which includes both the
Manchester Velodrome and the National Indoor BMX Arena, are all a short distance from the
stadium. The Squash Centre - which has hosted the British National Squash Championships
since 2003 - was added to the SportCity complex for the Commonwealth Games along with
CoMS. The Velodrome, another showpiece venue used to stage all the track cycling events for
the Games, was already in place and had been home to British Cycling, the governing body for
cycling in Britain, since it was built in 1994[72] as part of Manchesters unsuccessful 2000
Olympics bid.[73] Prior to the completion of the Lee Valley VeloPark for the 2012 Summer
Olympics, the Velodrome had been the only indoor Olympic-standard track in the United
Kingdom.[73] The collocated BMX Arena houses the United Kingdoms only permanent indoor
BMX track and provides seating for up two thousand spectators.[72] It was added to the National
Cycling Centre at SportCity in 2011.
Other major sporting and sport-related venues located in SportCity in the immediate vicinity of
the Etihad Stadium - all legacies of the 2002 Commonwealth Games - are the English Institute of
Sport, west of the stadium, adjacent to the southwest corner of the Regional Arena;[74] the
Manchester Regional Tennis Centre, adjacent to the north end of the stadium;[75] and the
Manchester Tennis & Football Centre, also adjacent to the stadium, which is operated and
administered by the Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust.[76]
Public sculpture[edit]
Colin Spofforth's giant bronze sculpture, The Runner, at SportCity
Between 11 March (Commonwealth Day) and 10 August 2002, as part of the preparations for the
upcoming Commonwealth Games and to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee, a
national Spirit of Friendship Festival was organised.[77] On 9 July, a few weeks before the Games
began, a sculpture outside the new national headquarters of the English Institute of Sport at
SportCity was unveiled by the middle-distance runner, Steve Cram MBE.[78] This sculpture,
commissioned in late 2001, was created in a little over eight weeks by Altrincham-based artist,
Colin Spofforth, who had submitted to Manchester City Council his idea for a heroic-sized
sculpture of a sprinter as a means of celebrating the beauty, power and determination of the
competing athletes.[79] Reaching thirty feet high, weighing seven tonnes, and titled The Runner,
this unique larger-than-life bronze statue of a male sprinter surmounting a bronze globe was, at
the time, the UK's largest sporting sculpture.[80] It depicts the very moment the runner leaves the
blocks once the starter's gun has fired.
From 2005 to 2009 a Thomas Heatherwick sculpture, B of the Bang, was situated to the southeast
of the stadium at the junction of Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way. Built after the
Commonwealth Games to commemorate them, it was the tallest sculpture in the UK. However,
numerous structural problems led to the 184 ft. sculpture being dismantled in 2009 for safety
reasons.[81] In 2014, money recovered by the Manchester City Council as a result of lengthy legal
battles consequent to this debacle was used to fund a new 341,000 public sculpture a few
hundred yards further south.[82]
Stadium firsts[edit]
Pitch invasion after 3-2 Premier League title victory over QPR in 2012
Action from 2008 UEFA Cup Final
The first public football match at the stadium was a friendly between Manchester City and
Barcelona on 10 August 2003. Manchester City won the game 21, with Nicolas Anelka scoring
the first ever goal in the stadium.[83][84]
The first competitive match followed four days later, a UEFA Cup match between Manchester
City and Welsh Premier League side The New Saints, which City won 50 with Trevor Sinclair
scoring the first competitive goal in the stadium.[85] Having started the Premier League season
with an away match, Manchester City's first home league fixture in the new stadium was on 23
August,[86] a game drawn 11 with Portsmouth, with Pompey's Yakubu scoring the first league
goal in the stadium.[87]
20112012 saw the Etihad Stadium play host to the setting of a number of new club and Premier
League footballing records, such as the club becoming the first ever team to win 11 of its
opening 12 games in a Premier League season,[88] and going on to remain unbeaten at the Etihad
Stadium in all nineteen of the Premier League games played there. The club's record of 55 home
points out of a possible 57 at the stadium is a joint best Premier League record,[89] and the club's
record of twenty consecutive home wins at the stadium (going back to the end of the previous
season) also set a new Premier League record in March 2012.[90]
The record football attendance at the stadium not involving its host team Manchester City is
43,878[91] which was set at the 2008 UEFA Cup Final game between Zenit Saint Petersburg and
Rangers on 14 May 2008.[92] As is customary for such games, the then 47,715 maximum physical
capacity[93] of the stadium had been reduced by UEFA to around 44,000 for this final.[94] However,
neither limit would have been able to accommodate the number of supporters of the Scottish
club, estimated to be in excess of 80,000,[95] that travelled down from Glasgow to Manchester on
the day of the game, despite the club's official ticket allocation being just 13,000 and police
requests for fans without tickets to stay home. This order of magnitude mismatch between the
numbers of traveling fans and those holding tickets ultimately led to a serious public disorder
incident in the centre of the city now inextricably associated with this final.[95]
Reception[edit]
Average Premier League attendances
Season
Stadium
capacity
Average
attendance
% of
capacity
Ranking within PL
201516
c.55,097[1]
t.b.d.
t.b.d.
t.b.d.
201415
46,708[96]
45,365
97.1%
4th highest
201314
47,405[97]
47,080
99.3%
4th highest
201213
47,405[98]
46,974
99.1%
4th highest
201112
47,405[99]
47,045
99.2%
4th highest
201011
47,405[100]
45,905
96.8%
4th highest
200910
47,405[101]
45,513
95.4%
3rd highest
200809
47,405[102]
42,900
90.5%
5th highest
200708
47,715[93]
42,126
88.3%
6th highest
200607
47,726[103]
39,997
83.8%
6th highest
200506
47,726[103]
42,856
89.8%
4th highest
200405
47,726[103]
45,192
94.7%
3rd highest
200304
47,726[104]
46,834
98.1%
3rd highest
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were deemed a success[105] and the stadium gained critical
acclaim for its atmosphere and architectural design.[106] It has won a number of design awards,
including the 2004 Royal Institute of British Architects Inclusive Design Award for inclusive
building design,[107] the 2003 Institution of Structural Engineers Structural Special Award,[15] and in
2002 a BCI Major Project high commendation was awarded by the British Construction Industry.
[15]
In July 2014, the stadium was declared one of the United Kingdom's five most iconic
structures by the Construction Industry Training Board.[108]
In 2003, initial reception by Manchester City supporters was polarised, with some lukewarm
about moving from Maine Road which had a reputation for being one of English football's most
atmospheric grounds, whilst others were enthusiastic about the bigger stadium and move back to
East Manchester where the club was formed. Since 2010, the club has boasted more than 36,000
season ticket holders[109] each season, which is more than the 35,150 maximum capacity of Maine
Road just before the club moved homes.[110]
A 2007 Premier League survey found that fans thought sight lines at the stadium were the second
best in the Premier League after the Emirates Stadium.[111] Opposition fans have generally given
positive feedback, with CoMS coming second to Old Trafford in a 2005 poll to find the United
Kingdom's favourite football ground.[112] In 2010, the City of Manchester Stadium was the third
most visited stadium after Old Trafford and Anfield by overseas visitors.[113]
In the early years of Manchester City's tenure, the stadium suffered from a poor atmosphere, a
common problem with modern stadia when compared with traditional football grounds such as
Maine Road. In the 2007 Premier League survey, Manchester City supporters rated the
atmosphere as second worst in the league,[114] but the atmosphere has since significantly improved
and continues to do so.[115]
In October 2014, the club received two national VisitFootball awards for the quality of its
customer care of Premier League fans visiting the Etihad Stadium during the previous season.[116]
VisitFootball, a joint venture between the Premier League and the national tourism board's
VisitEngland, has been assessing the care that patrons receive at football grounds since August
2010, and presents annual awards for those clubs who deliver outstanding customer service.
Manchester City had been one of the first four clubs to receive an inaugural VisitFootball award
in 2011,[117] but in 2014 it was the recipient of both the Club of the Year and Warmest Welcome
awards. According to the panel of experts from the football and customer service industries that
assess the services and facilities provided at each of the twenty Premier League club stadia,
"Manchester City are the gold standard in providing fans with the best matchday experience."[118]
Etihad Campus[edit]
Etihad Stadium, viewed in March 2015 from the new SuisseGas Bridge
Etihad Campus and CFA[edit]
Main article: Etihad Campus
In July 2011, CoMS was renamed the Etihad Stadium, sponsored by Etihad Airways[58] who
fought off competition from Ferrostaal and Aabar to gain the stadium naming rights.[119] This
lucrative 10-year sponsorship deal included not just the naming rights to the stadium itself but to
the whole 200 million complex of football-related facilities into which it was soon to be
incorporated.[120] In mid-September 2011, development plans were duly announced for a new
state-of-the-art youth academy and training facility - now known as the City Football Academy
(CFA)[60] - to be built on derelict land adjacent to the stadium and which would include a 7,000
capacity mini-stadium plus fifteen additional outdoor football pitches, six swimming pools and
three gyms.[121] The planned CFA facility was not only to become the new home base of the
Manchester City first team squad, reserve (U21 youth) team squad, and all of the Academy
younger age group squads, but also the new home of the prior loosely affiliated Manchester City
Ladies team[122] (which was re-branded in 2012 as Manchester City Women's F.C. and more
formally merged into the Manchester City family of affiliated football teams[123]). Also fully
integrated into the new CFA facility would be the parent club's world headquarters.[124]
At the beginning of March 2014, the structural framework for a new pedestrian
walkway/footbridge over the junction of Alan Turing Way and Ashton New Road connecting the
CFA with the Etihad Stadium was lowered into place.[125] With sponsor Suisse Power & Gas SA
having subsequently secured the naming rights,[126] the completed SuisseGas Bridge was officially
opened and turned over to Manchester City Council for general public access on 26 November
2014.[127] Twelve days later, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne,[128] presided over
the official opening of the CFA.[129]
Community outreach / Urban regeneration[edit]
As part of Manchester City's commitment to community outreach in their redevelopment plans

for the areas of East Manchester adjacent to the Etihad Stadium, other urban regeneration plans
incorporated into the overall Etihad Campus development project include the new 43 million
Beswick Community Hub,[130] that includes Connell Sixth Form College;[131] a community leisure
centre (with swimming pool, dance studio, health and fitness gym, rugby pitch, and grass sports
pitches);[132] and a planned Manchester Institute of Health and Performance.[133] On 26 November

2014, the same day the SuisseGas Bridge was officially opened, a "globally admired" grouping
of stainless steel sculptures[134] - consisting of three towering metallic chess pieces called Dad's
Halo Effect by its internationally acclaimed creator, Ryan Gander - was likewise unveiled to the
public.[135] Commissioned by the Manchester City Council to represent both the past industrial
and current sporting heritage of this area of east Manchester, the public artwork is located in
front of the Connell Sixth Form College, close to the central circus of the Beswick Community
Hub[136] and only a few hundred yards south from where the area's last public sculpture, B of the
Bang, had been situated.[137]
Transport[edit]
A tram at Etihad Campus tram stop which opened in February 2013
The stadium is 2.5 km east of Manchester city centre. Manchester Piccadilly railway station,
which serves mainline trains from Manchester Airport, London, Birmingham and Edinburgh, is a
20-minute walk away along a well-lit signposted route that is supervised by stewards close to the
ground. Piccadilly station also has a Metrolink tram stop (in the undercroft); from which regular
trams along the East Manchester Line to Ashton-under-Lyne serve the stadium and Etihad
Campus, with enhanced service frequencies and doubled tram units on matchdays. The Etihad
Campus tram stop close to Joe Mercer Way to the immediate north of the stadium opened in
February 2013, and handles several thousand travellers each matchday; spectators travelling by
tram from Manchester city centre being able to board services at Piccadilly Gardens, the journey
taking approximately 10 minutes.[138] The Velopark tram stop also opened in February 2013 and
provides access to the southeastern approach to the stadium, as well as closer access to other
areas of SportCity such as the Manchester Velodrome and the City Football Academy.[139]
There are many bus routes from the city centre and all other directions which stop at, or close to,
SportCity. On match and event days special bus services from the city centre serve the stadium.
[140]
The site has 2,000 parking spaces, with another 8,000 spaces in the surrounding area provided
by local businesses and schools.[141]
Other uses[edit]
Concerts at Eastlands
Summer
Artist
2004[142]
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2005[142]
Oasis, U2
2006[142]
Take That, Bon Jovi
2007[142]
George Michael, Rod Stewart
2008[142]
Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi
2009[142]
2010[142]
None due to concerns

over pitch erosion[143]
2011[142]
Take That, Pet Shop Boys
2012[142]
Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen
2013[142]
Muse, Bon Jovi,

Robbie Williams
2014
One Direction
2016
The Stone Roses, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen
Side view of a rock concert stage
Boxing ring at Hatton's title fight
Under the terms of its lease, the stadium is able to host non-football events such as concerts,
boxing and rugby fixtures at Manchester City's prerogative.[144] Manchester City applied for a
permanent entertainment licence in 2012 in a bid to expand the number of non-footballing events
at the stadium.[145]
Concerts[edit]
Outside the football season the stadium hosts occasional concerts, and is one of the UK's largest
music venues, having a maximum capacity of 60,000 for performances.[146] It was the largest
stadium concert venue in England before the new Wembley Stadium was built.[146][147]
The first concert was a performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers supported by James Brown in
2004.[143] An Oasis concert at the ground was featured on the DVD, Lord Don't Slow Me Down
and the band's concert in 2005 set the attendance record of 60,000.[4] Take That released a DVD
of their 2006 performance at the stadium, Take That: The Ultimate Tour.[148] Other artists who
have played the stadium are U2,[143] George Michael,[142] Rod Stewart,[143] Foo Fighters,[143] Pet Shop
Boys,[142] Manic Street Preachers,[143] Bastille, Dizzee Rascal, The Futureheads, the Sugababes,
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Coldplay,[142] Bruce Springsteen,[142] Muse,[142] Bon Jovi[142] (three times),
Robbie Williams[149] and One Direction.[150]
Concerts and boxing matches eventually took their toll on the pitch. In 2008, late post-concert
pitch renovation, combined with an early start to the football season, led to the pitch not being
ready for the first home fixture,[151] causing the club to play its UEFA Cup first round qualifying
match at Barnsley's Oakwell Stadium[152] and a moratorium to be imposed on the staging of nonfootball events at Eastlands. In May 2010, the club invested in a new pitch[40][153] and summer
concerts resumed in 2011 when Take That[142] played eight nights, with ticket sales totalling
approximately 400,000.
Other football events[edit]
CoMS is rated a category 4 stadium[154] by UEFA and has hosted several major football matches
in addition to Manchester City's home fixtures. It became the fiftieth stadium to host an England
international football match when the English and Japanese national teams played on 1 June
2004.[5] In June 2005, the stadium hosted England's opening game in the UEFA Women's
Championship, setting an attendance record of 29,092 for the competition.[155] The stadium also
hosted the 2008 UEFA Cup Final,[4] in which Zenit Saint Petersburg defeated Rangers 20.
In May 2011, the stadium hosted the Conference National Play-off final between A.F.C
Wimbledon and Luton Town; Wimbledon gained promotion to the Football League beating
Luton in a penalty shootout.[156] The stadium was used for the play-offs because the 2011 UEFA
Champions League Final was due to take place at Wembley on Saturday 28 May 2011 and UEFA
regulations stipulate the stadium hosting the Champions League final must not be used for other
matches during the previous two weeks.[157]
Other sports[edit]
In October 2004, the stadium played host to a rugby league international match between Great
Britain and Australia in the Tri-Nations series in front of nearly 40,000 spectators.[158] The
stadium more recently hosted the Magic Weekend for three consecutive seasons (20122014).[6]
This is a rugby league competition in which all 14 members of the Super League competition
play each other over a full weekend. After a record attendance in 2012 both for a single day
(32,953) and the aggregate for the whole weekend (63,716) the Etihad Stadium became the
venue of choice for this annual rugby league event, setting another attendance record (36,339 /
64,552) for it in May 2014. However, the current construction work involved with the expansion
of the South Stand caused this competition to be relocated to St. James' Park for the summer of
2015, but it is expected to return to the Etihad again once the expansion work is complete.[159]
On 24 May 2008, Stockport born and twice IBF and IBO light welterweight champion boxer
Ricky Hatton defeated Juan Lazcano in a contest billed as "Hatton's Homecoming". The fight
was held in front of 56,337 fans,[7] setting a record attendance for a British boxing event post
World War II.[160]
On October 10, 2015 it hosted a 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between hosts nation
England and Uruguay.[161] England won 60 3 with 50,778 in attendance.[162]
30 St Mary Axe
(Redirected from 30 St. Mary Axe)

"The Gherkin" redirects here. For the pickled fruit, see Gherkin.
30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe, with St Andrew Undershaft church in the

foreground, pictured from Leadenhall Street
General information
Status
Complete
Type
Office
Architectural
style
Location
Neo-futuristic[citation needed]
St Mary Axe,
London, United Kingdom[1][2]
513052N 000449W51.51444N
Coordinates
513052N
000449W51.51444N 0.08028W
Construction
started
Completed
2001
2003[3]
Opening
28 April 2004; 12 years ago[4][5]

138 million (plus land cost of 90.6
Cost
million)[6]
adjusted for inflation: 206 million (plus land cost of
144 million)[6][7]
Height
Roof
180 metres (591 ft)

Technical details
Floor count
41
Floor area
47,950 square metres (516,100 sq ft)

Architect
Structural
engineer
Main
contractor
Foster and Partners

Arup
Skanska
References
[8]
30 St Mary Axe (widely known informally as The Gherkin and previously as the Swiss Re
Building) is a commercial neo-futuristic[citation needed] skyscraper in London's primary financial
district, the City of London. It was completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004.[4]
With 41 storeys, it is 180 metres (591 ft) tall[3] and stands on the former sites of the Baltic
Exchange and Chamber of Shipping, which were extensively damaged in 1992 by the explosion
of a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA in St Mary Axe, the street from which the tower takes
its name.[4][9]
After plans to build the 92-storey Millennium Tower were dropped, 30 St Mary Axe was
designed by Norman Foster and Arup Group[10] and it was erected by Skanska, with construction
commencing in 2001.[3]
The building has become an iconic symbol of London and is one of the city's most widely
recognised examples of contemporary architecture.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
o 1.1 Site
o 1.2 Planning process
o 1.3 Design and construction
o 1.4 After completion
o 1.5 Tenants
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
History[edit]
Site[edit]
The building stands on the former sites of the Baltic Exchange (24-28 St Mary Axe), the
headquarters of a global marketplace for ship sales and shipping information, and the Chamber
of Shipping (30-32 St Mary Axe). On 10 April 1992 the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb close
to the Exchange, causing extensive damage to the historic building and neighbouring structures.[4]
[9]
The United Kingdom government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, English
Heritage, and the City of London's governing body, the City of London Corporation, were keen
that any redevelopment must restore the Baltic Exchange's old faade onto St Mary Axe. The
Exchange Hall was a celebrated fixture of the ship trading market.[11][12]
After English Heritage later discovered the damage was far more severe than initially thought,
they stopped insisting on full restoration, albeit over the objections of the architectural
conservationists who favoured reconstruction.[13] The Baltic Exchange and the Chamber of
Shipping sold the land to Trafalgar House in 1995.[14] Most of the remaining structures on Baltic
Exchange site were then carefully dismantled, the interior of Exchange Hall and the faade were
preserved, hoping for a reconstruction of the building in the future.[14] The salvaged material was
eventually sold for 800,000 and moved to Tallinn, Estonia, where it awaits reconstruction as the
centrepiece of the city's commercial sector.
In 1996, Trafalgar House submitted plans for the Millennium Tower, a 386-metre (1,266 ft)
building with more than 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft) of office space, apartments, shops,
restaurants and gardens. This plan was dropped after objections for being totally out-of-scale
with the City of London and anticipated disruption to flight paths for both London City and
London Heathrow airports; the revised plan for a lower tower was accepted.
The tower's topmost panoramic dome, known as the "lens", recalls the iconic glass dome that
covered part of the ground floor of the Baltic Exchange and much of which is now displayed at
the National Maritime Museum.[4][15]
The Gherkin nickname was applied to the current building at least as far back as 1999,[16]
referring to that plan's highly unorthodox layout and appearance.[citation needed]
Planning process[edit]
On 23 August 2000, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott granted planning permission to
construct a building much larger than the old Exchange on the site.[11] The site was special
because it needed development, was not on any of the "sight lines" (planning guidance requires
that new buildings do not obstruct or detract from the view of St Paul's dome when viewed from
a number of locations around London), and it had housed the Baltic Exchange.
The plan for the site was to reconstruct the Baltic Exchange. GMW Architects proposed a new
rectangular building surrounding a restored exchangethe square shape would have the type of
large floor plan that banks liked. Eventually, the planners realised that the exchange was not
recoverable, forcing them to relax their building constraints; they hinted that an "architecturally
significant" building might obtain a favourable reception from city authorities. This gave the
architect a free hand in the design; it eliminated the restrictive demands for a large, capitalefficient, money-making building, whose design was per the client's desire.[17]
Swiss Re's low level plan met the planning authority's desire to maintain London's traditional
streetscape with its relatively narrow streets. The mass of the Swiss Re tower was not too
imposing. Like Barclays Bank's former City headquarters in Lombard Street, the idea was that
the passer-by in neighbouring streets would be nearly oblivious to the tower's existence until
directly underneath it.
Design and construction[edit]

The building was constructed by Skanska, completed in December 2003 and opened on 28 April
2004.[4] The primary occupant of the building is Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company, which
had the building commissioned as the head office for its UK operation. The tower is thus
sometimes known as the Swiss Re Building, although this name has never been official and has
more recently fallen out of favour since the company's main headquarters is in Zurich and the
Gherkin name has become more popular.[18]
30 St Mary Axe under construction

The building uses energy-saving methods which allow it to use half the power that a similar
tower would typically consume.[18] Gaps in each floor create six shafts that serve as a natural
ventilation system for the entire building even though required firebreaks on every sixth floor
interrupt the "chimney." The shafts create a giant double glazing effect; air is sandwiched
between two layers of glazing and insulates the office space inside.[4]
Architects promote double glazing in residential houses, which avoids the inefficient convection
of heat across the relatively narrow gap between the panes, but the tower exploits this effect. The
shafts pull warm air out of the building during the summer and warm the building in the winter
using passive solar heating. The shafts also allow sunlight to pass through the building, making
the work environment more pleasing, and keeping the lighting costs down.
The primary methods for controlling wind-excited sways are to increase the stiffness, or increase
damping with tuned/active mass dampers. To a design by Arup, its fully triangulated perimeter
structure makes the building sufficiently stiff without any extra reinforcements. Despite its
overall curved glass shape, there is only one piece of curved glass on the buildingthe lensshaped cap at the very top.[4]
On the building's top level (the 40th floor), there is a bar for tenants and their guests featuring a
360 view of London. A restaurant operates on the 39th floor, and private dining rooms on the
38th.[18] Whereas most buildings have extensive lift equipment on the roof of the building, this
was not possible for the Gherkin, since a bar had been planned for the 40th floor. The architects
dealt with this by having the main lift only reach the 34th floor, and then having a push-frombelow lift to the 39th floor. There is a marble stairwell and a disabled persons' lift which leads
the visitor up to the bar in the dome.
The building is visible over long distances: from the north, for instance, it can be seen from the
M11 motorway, some 32 kilometres (20 mi) away,[18][19] while to the west it can be seen from the
statue of George III in Windsor Great Park.
After completion[edit]
In April 2005, the press reported that a glass panel two-thirds up the tower had fallen to the plaza
beneath. The plaza was sealed off but the building remained open. A temporary covered
walkway, extending across the plaza to the building's reception, was erected to protect visitors.
Engineers examined the other 744 glass panels on the building.[20] The cost of repair was covered
by main contractor Skanska and curtain-wall supplier Schmidlin (now called Schmidlin-TSK
AG).[18]
Since its completion, the building has won a number of awards for architecture. In October 2004,
the architect was awarded the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize. For the first time in the prize's history,
the judges reached a unanimous decision.[21] In December 2005, a survey of the world's largest
firms of architects published in 2006 BD World Architecture 200 voted the tower as the most
admired new building in the world. However, Ken Shuttleworth, who worked for Foster and
Partners on the design of the building, said in 2011 that he believed the style was now outmoded: "I was looking at the glass all around and [thought], 'Why on earth did we do that?' Now
we would do things differently".[22] The building featured in recent films such as Harry Potter
and the Half Blood Prince, Russell Crowe's A Good Year, Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct 2, and
Woody Allen's Match Point[23] and, rechristened the Spirit of London, became the spaceship
centrepiece of Keith Mansfield's 2008 novel Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London.[24]
In September 2006, the building was put up for sale with a price tag of 600 million.[25] Potential
buyers included British Land, Land Securities, Prudential, ING, and the Abu Dhabi royal family.
On 21 February 2007, IVG Immobilien AG and UK investment firm Evans Randall completed
their joint purchase of the building for 630 million, making it Britain's most expensive office
building.[26][27] Swiss Re booked a gain of more than 300 million from the sale.[28] The new owners
are seeking compensation from four of their former managers on the deal, in which about 620
million was paid for a building with a build cost of about 200 million, giving the previous
owners a clear 300 million profit.[29]
Since February 2010,[30] Sky News has broadcast its flagship business programme, Jeff Randall
Live, from a studio in the building. In addition the top two floors of tower are now available on a
private hire basis for events.[31]
Deloitte announced in April 2014 that the building was again being put up for sale, with an
expected price of 550 million.[32] The current owners could not afford to make loan repayments,
citing differences in the value of the multi-currency loan and the British pound, high interest
rates and general financing structure.[33] In November 2014, the Gherkin was purchased for 700
million by the Safra Group, controlled by the Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra.[34]
Tenants[edit]
As of January 2015, current occupiers of the building include:
Standard Life
SuperDerivatives - now owned by Intercontinental Exchange
Allied World Assurance
Regus
ION Trading
Kirkland & Ellis
Deutsche Pfandbrief bank AG
Hunton & Williams
Coleman Bennett International Consultancy Plc
Falcon Group
IPsoft
Liberty Living
Swiss Re
Lab49
RightShip
Additionally, retailers and restaurants operate from the site, including The Sterling and Bridge's
Newsagent.
Torre Agbar
Torre Agbar
Torre Agbar, 10 February 2011

General information
Type
Location
Coordinates
Office, conference
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
412412N 021122E41.40333N
2.18944ECoordinates:
412412N
021122E41.40333N 2.18944E
Construction
started
Completed
Opening
Cost
Owner
1999
2004
June 2005
US$130,000,000
Grupo Agbar
Height
Roof
Top floor
144.44 m (473.88 ft)

128.3 m (421 ft)
Technical details
Floor count
33
Floor area
51,483 m2 (554,158 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators
9
Architect
Structural
engineer
Awards and
prizes
Jean Nouvel and Fermn Vzquez

Brufau & A. Obiol
International Highrise Award
2006
References
[1][2][3]
The Torre Agbar (Catalan pronunciation: [tor bar]) is a 38-story skyscraper / tower located
between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaa de les Glries Catalanes, which
marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was
designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm b720 Fermn
Vzquez Arquitectos and built by Dragados. The Torre Agbar is located in the Poblenou
neighbourhood of Barcelona and is named after its owners, the Agbar Group, a holding company
whose interests include the Barcelona water company Aiges de Barcelona.[4]
The tower measures a total of 50,693 square metres, of which 30,000 are offices, 3,210 technical
facilities, 8,132 services, including an auditorium, and 9,132 square metres for parking. It cost
130 million Euros to build.
It opened in June 2005 and was officially opened by King Juan Carlos I on 16 September 2005.
It is one in a collection of High-tech architecture examples in Barcelona.
The building is owned by the multinational group Agbar which has its corporate headquarters in
the building and that takes up most of the floors, renting the remainder. The Agbar Tower was
acquired in March 2010 for 165 million euro, after reaching an agreement with its former owner,
the investment group Azurelau.[5] Azurelau previously had bought the property in mid-2007. The
purchase price was not disclosed.
Contents
[hide]
1 Design
o 1.1 Construction
2 Features
o 2.1 Materials
o 2.2 Form and structure
o 2.3 Distribution
3 Lighting
4 A symbol of Barcelona
o 4.1 Ringing in the New Year
5 Curiosities
6 Gallery
7 In popular culture
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
Design[edit]
According to Jean Nouvel, Torre Agbar is intended to recall the shape of a geyser rising into the
air. It was inspired by Montserrat, a mountain near Barcelona. In an interview, he described the
tower as having a phallic character.[6][7] As a result of its unusual shape, the building is known by
several nicknames, such as "el supositori" (the suppository), "l'obs" (the shell) and some more
scatological ones.[6] It is also somewhat similar in shape to Sir Norman Foster's 30 St. Mary Axe
in London, often called "the Gherkin". It has 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft) of above-ground office
space, 3,210 m2 (34,600 sq ft) of technical service floors with installations and 8,351 m2
(89,890 sq ft) of services, including an auditorium. The Agbar Tower measures 144.4 m (473 ft
9 in) in height[8] and consists of 38 storeys, including four underground levels.
Its design combines a number of different architectural concepts, resulting in a striking structure
built with reinforced concrete, covered with a facade of glass, and over 4,500 window openings
cut out of the structural concrete. The building stands out in Barcelona; it is the third tallest
building in the city, after the Arts Hotel and the Mapfre Tower, which both stand 154 m (505 ft)
tall.
A defining feature of the building is its nocturnal illumination. It has 4,500 LED devices that
allow generation of luminous images on its faade. In addition, the outside of the tower has
temperature sensors that regulate the opening and closing of the window blinds of the faade,
reducing the consumption of energy for air conditioning. It houses the head office of the Aiges
de Barcelona Group, the water supply company of Barcelona.
As explained by Nouvel himself, the construction was strongly influenced by one of the most
representative symbols of Catalan culture. One side references the bell towers of the Sagrada
Familia by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaud. (These bell towers were based in turn on the idea
of the Hotel Attraction, a course project by the teacher Reus in 1908 for some New York
hoteliers which was redesigned in 1956 by his disciple Joan Matamala. These designs were
included in Rem Koolhaas' book Delirious New York,[9] a reference for many architects.) An
additional tribute to the Sagrada Famlia lies in the north side of the tower, which was designed
with the intention of obtaining an optimal view of the cathedral.
Additionally, Nouvel was inspired by the distinctive pinnacles of the Montserrat mountain range,
which are of great significance for the people of Catalonia, as Montserrat houses their patron
saint, Our Lady of Montserrat.
In designing the Agbar Tower, Nouvel said he rejected the prevailing North American opinion of
what a skyscraper should look like. It was the architect's intention to give the impression of land
that is emerging out of the ground in a particular fashion. The use of the tower by a water utility
company led him to the design of a metaphor of a geyser sprouting from the deep sea.
Construction[edit]
Starting in mid-1999, when activities were initiated for preparing the site, Dragados's,[10]
construction project dragged on for nearly six years, finally ending in late 2004. Approximately
1170 workers were engaged in its construction.
Features[edit]
Materials[edit]
The main materials used in the construction of the building are concrete which comprises the
structure of the tower and aluminium and glass in the form of 59,619 strips of painted sheet
metal of different colours, covering the approximately 16,000 m2 of exterior surface. In addition,
the glass has different inclinations and opacities which, combined with the different shades of
aluminium, alter the colour balance of the tower as a function of time of day and season of the
year.
The construction used 25,000 m3 of concrete and 125 tonnes of steel.
Form and structure[edit]

The tower is made up of two concentric concrete oval cylinders which do not come in contact
with each other. The outer cylinder, which completely encases the inner cylinder is covered by a
dome of glass and steel which gives the tower its characteristic shape of a bullet. This outer
cylinder with a thickness of 45 cm at the base and 25 cm at the top contains approximately 4,500
windows, while the inner cylinder measuring 50 cm at the base and 30 cm at the highest point, is
where the lifts, stairs and facilities are located.
Distribution[edit]
The building contains 38 floors of which 34 are above ground and four floors are underground.
Two of the underground floors host an auditorium for 316 people in addition to other services
areas while the other two are intended for parking. Of the 34 floors located above the ground, 28
are for offices, three are technical plants hosting building facilities, one is dedicated to
multipurpose rooms, another houses the cafeteria and the last is intended to be a viewing
platform just below the top of the tower.
Lighting[edit]
One of the most characteristic elements of the building is its nocturnal illumination. The tower
has more than 4,500 luminous devices that can operate independently using LED technology and
enables the generation of images on the outside of the tower. The system is capable of creating
16 million colours, thanks to a sophisticated system of hardware and software. It has the ability
to quickly transition between colours which can create a shocking effect.
The unique lighting system of the building, dubbed by its creator Yann Kersal as diffraction,
who defined it as "a vaporous cloud of colour that seeks moir", is often used in the celebration
of various events such as the naming of Barcelona as the capital of the Union for the
Mediterranean or the 50th anniversary of Treaty of Rome.
A symbol of Barcelona[edit]
The tower as seen from the street.

Once it was finished, the Agbar Tower quickly became an architectural icon of the city of
Barcelona and one of its most famous buildings. However, it was not initially immune to
criticism from citizens and experts who said that its characteristics did not fit into the
architecture of Barcelona. Over time it has become one of the symbols that universally identify
the Catalan capital and is one of its tourist attractions.
In mid-2008, a number of Catalan public institutions made a list that included the major cultural
icons in the Autonomous Community that were meant to serve as models for tourist souvenirs
which identity Catalonia, and the tower was included in it.
The popularity of the tower to tourists is such that a visit to the tower has become a part of tourist
bus routes (and even the helicopter tour) and many tourists take an opportunity to visit the inside.
Ringing in the New Year[edit]

Since 2006, TV3, the main Catalan regional television service, has used the capabilities the
special lighting system at the Agbar Tower offered to show end of year celebrations. This has
become the venue chosen by thousands of locals and visitors to the city to welcome the New
Year. This choice of the tower as an icon of the city for New Year celebrations have allowed
Barcelona to begin to appear on television around the world alongside those of famous
landmarks in cities such as Sydney, Madrid, Paris, London or New York. Prior to 2006 this did
not occur because the places chosen by TV3 lacked the international recognition that the Jean
Nouvel tower provides.
Curiosities[edit]
The tower has twice been scaled by Alain Robert. The first, on 3 August 2006, was an
action which sought to call for peace in the conflict in Lebanon. The second was in
September 2007.
In 2007, "Torre Agbar" was recorded in the Spanish Patent and Trademark office, by the
company Aiges de Barcelona, for use as a brand of alcoholic beverages.
Gallery[edit]
This section contains a gallery of images. Galleries containing indiscriminate
images of the article subject are discouraged; please improve or remove the section
accordingly, moving freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons if not already
hosted there.
Construction work of Torre Agbar, 11 April 2004
Torre Agbar, 12 September 2007
Torre Agbar and Plaa de les Glries Catalanes, as seen from a nearby office building, 25
April 2008
Torre Agbar faade
Alain Robert climbing Torre Agbar, 9 October 2007
Torre Agbar by night, 30 April 2007
Torre Agbar by night, 3 February 2007
Torre Agbar, July 2009
Hearst Tower (Manhattan)

(Redirected from Hearst Tower (New York City))

This article is about a building in Manhattan, New York City. For other uses, see Hearst Tower
(disambiguation).
Hearst Tower
Hearst Tower in 2006

General information
Type
Office
300 West 57th Street
Location
or 959 8th Avenue

Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
404600N 735900W40.766538N
Coordinates
404600N
735900W40.766538N 73.983452W
Construction
started
April 30, 2003
Completed
2006
Opening
2006
Cost
$500 million ($6250/office sq.m.)[1]

Height
Roof
182 m (597 ft)

Technical details
Floor count
46
Floor area
80,000 square metres (861,100 sq ft)

Foster + Partners
Architect
Gensler
Adamson Associates Architects
Structural
engineer
Awards and
prizes
WSP Cantor Seinuk

International Highrise Award
2008
The Hearst Tower is a building with the addresses of 300 West 57th Street and 959 Eighth
Avenue,[2] near Columbus Circle, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is the world
headquarters of the Hearst Corporation, housing the numerous publications and communications
companies of the media conglomerate under one roof, including, among others, Cosmopolitan,
Esquire, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, and Seventeen.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Window cleaning
3 Gallery
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
History[edit]
The six-story base of the headquarters building was commissioned by the founder, William
Randolph Hearst, and awarded to the architect Joseph Urban. The building was completed in
1928[3] at a cost of $2 million and contained 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2). The original cast stone
facade has been preserved in the new design as a designated Landmark site. Originally built as
the base for a proposed skyscraper, the construction of the tower was postponed due to the Great
Depression. The new tower addition was completed nearly eighty years later, and 2,000 Hearst
employees moved in on June 26, 2006.[4]
The towerdesigned by the architect Norman Foster, structurally engineered by WSP Cantor
Seinuk, and constructed by Turner Constructionis 46 stories tall, standing 182 meters (597 ft)
with 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of office space. The uncommon triangular framing
pattern (also known as a diagrid) required 9,500 metric tons (10,480 tons) of structural steel
reportedly about 20% less than a conventional steel frame. Hearst Tower was the first skyscraper
to break ground in New York City after September 11, 2001. The building received the 2006
Emporis Skyscraper Award,[5] citing it as the best skyscraper in the world completed that year.
Hearst Tower is the first "green" high-rise office building completed in New York City, with a
number of environmental considerations built into the plan. The floor of the atrium is paved with
heat conductive limestone. Polyethylene tubing is embedded under the floor and filled with
circulating water for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. Rain collected on the roof
is stored in a tank in the basement for use in the cooling system, to irrigate plants and for the
water sculpture in the main lobby. 85% of the building's structural steel contains recycled
material. Overall, the building has been designed to use 26% less energy than the minimum
requirements for the city of New York, and earned a gold designation from the United States
Green Building Councils LEED certification program, becoming New York City's first LEED
Gold skyscraper.
The atrium features escalators which run through a 3-story water sculpture titled Icefall, a wide
waterfall built with thousands of glass panels, which cools and humidifies the lobby air. The
water element is complemented by a 70-foot-tall (21 m) fresco painting titled Riverlines by artist
Richard Long.
Window cleaning[edit]
The layout of the Hearst Tower is such that the facade is very jagged. Plans for a rig, designed by
Tractel-Swingstage, to hold window cleaners, took 3 years and 3 million dollars because of the
building's concave windows, referred to as "bird's mouths".[6] The resulting design incorporates "a
rectangular steel box the size of a Smart car, supporting a 40-foot mast and hydraulic boom arm
attached by six strands of wire rope to a telescopic cleaning basket, [and housing] a computer
that monitors 67 electromechanical safety sensors and switches".[7] The device was installed in
April 2005 on 420 feet of elevated steel track looping the roof of the tower.[7]
On June 12, 2013, two window cleaners were trapped on the window cleaning crane partway
down from the top of the tower.[8] The unique zigzag grid on the building's exterior and "bird's
mouth" divots on its corners necessitated development of a special scaffold for window washers.
[7]
Gallery[edit]
Interior of the Lobby taken from "Cafe 57"
A closeup of building's facade
Another view of the tower

The exterior of the base
Wembley Stadium

This article is about the stadium opened in 2007. For the original stadium it replaced, see
Wembley Stadium (1923).
Not to be confused with Wembley Arena.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template
message)
Wembley Stadium
"The Home of Football"[1]
New Wembley
UEFA
Location
London, England
513321N
Coordinates
01647W51.55583N
513321N
01647W51.55583N 0.27972W
Owner
Operator
Executive suites
The Football Association

Wembley National Stadium Limited
166
90,000[2] (Association football, rugby
league, rugby union)
Capacity
75,000 to 90,000 seated and 15,000

standing (concerts)
60,000 to 72,000 (athletics)
86,000 (American football)
Record attendance 90,000 (Muse, Eminem)

Field size
Surface
105 by 68 metres (115 by 74 yd)

Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground
Built
Opened
30 September 2002[3]
20022007
9 March 2007; 9 years ago
Construction cost
GBP 757 million (2007)[4]

(947 million in 2016 sterling[5])
HOK Sport (Populous since 2009),
Foster and Partners, Nathaniel
Architect
Lichfield and Partners (planning

consultants)[6]
Project manager
Symonds[7]
Mott Stadium Consortium Mott
Structural engineer MacDonald, Sinclair Knight & Merz

& Aurecon[7]
Services engineer
Mott MacDonald[7]
General contractor Multiplex Constructions (UK) Ltd[7]

Tenants
England national football team (2007present)
NFL International Series (NFL) (2007-present)
FA Cup Final
Website
wembleystadium.com
Wembley Stadium is a football stadium in Wembley, London, England, which opened in 2007,
on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 20022003.[8][not in citation given]
The stadium hosts major football matches including the FA Cup Final and home matches of the
England national football team.
Wembley Stadium is a UEFA category four stadium. With 90,000 seats, it is the second-largest
stadium in Europe and the largest stadium in the United Kingdom.[2] It is owned by The Football
Association through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL).
Designed by HOK Sport[9] and Foster and Partners, it includes a partially retractable roof and the
134-metre-high (440 ft) Wembley Arch. The stadium was built by Australian firm Multiplex at a
cost of 798 million.
In addition to the FA Cup Final, the stadium hosts the season-opening FA Community Shield, the
League Cup Final, the Football League Trophy and the Football League play-offs. It hosted the
2011 and 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, the Gold medal matches at the 2012 Olympic
Games football tournament, and will host both the semi-finals and final of UEFA Euro 2020.[10]
The stadium also hosts the rugby league Challenge Cup Final, the NFL International Series and
music concerts.
Contents
[hide]
1 Stadium
o 1.1 Construction
o 1.2 Handover and opening
o 1.3 Structure
o 1.4 Pitch
o 1.5 Covering
o 1.6 Litigation
2 Tenants
3 Music
o 3.1 Concerts
4 Firsts at the new Wembley Stadium

o 4.1 Football
o 4.2 Rugby league
o 4.3 Rugby union
o 4.4 American football
o 4.5 Boxing
5 Transport connections
o 5.1 Rail and Underground
o 5.2 Onsite parking
o 5.3 Bus
6 References
7 External links
Stadium[edit]
Wembley Stadium exterior

Wembley was designed by architects Foster + Partners and HOK Sport (now known as
Populous) and with engineers Mott Stadium Consortium, who were a collection of three
structural engineering consultants in the form of Mott MacDonald Ltd, Sinclair Knight & Merz
and Aurecon. The design of the building services was carried out by Mott MacDonald Ltd. The
construction of the stadium was managed by Australian company Brookfield Multiplex and
funded by Sport England, WNSL (Wembley National Stadium Limited), the Football
Association, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the London Development Agency.
It is one of the most expensive stadia ever built at a cost of 798 million (After the MetLife
Stadium)[11][12] and has the largest roof-covered seating capacity in the world. Nathaniel Lichfield
and Partners was appointed to assist Wembley National Stadium Limited in preparing the scheme
for a new stadium and to obtain planning and listed building permission for the development.[13]
Wembley Stadium interior

The all-seater stadium is based around a bowl design with a capacity of 90,000, protected from
the elements by a sliding roof that does not completely enclose it. It can also be adapted as an
athletic stadium by erecting a temporary platform over the lowest tier of seating.[14] The stadium's
signature feature is a circular section lattice arch of 7 m (23 ft) internal diameter with a 315 m
(1,033 ft) span, erected some 22 off true, and rising to 133 m (436 ft). It supports all the weight
of the north roof and 60% of the weight of the retractable roof on the southern side.[15] The
archway is the world's longest unsupported roof structure.[16]
A "platform system" has been designed to convert the stadium for athletics use, but its use would
decrease the stadium's capacity to approximately 60,000.[17] No athletics events (track and field)
have taken place at the stadium, and none are scheduled.[18] The conversion for athletics use was a
condition of part of the lottery funding the stadium received, but to convert it would take weeks
of work and cost millions of pounds.[19]
Construction[edit]
The stadium in its very early stages of construction c. August 2003

The initial plan for the reconstruction of Wembley was for demolition to begin before Christmas
2000, and for the new stadium to be completed some time during 2003, but this work was
delayed by a succession of financial and legal difficulties. In 2004, the London Mayor, Ken
Livingstone, and Brent Council also announced wider plans for the regeneration of Wembley,
taking in the arena and the surrounding areas as well as the stadium, to be implemented over two
or three decades. Demolition officially began on 30 September 2002, with the towers being
dismantled in December 2002.
Delays to the construction project started as far back as 2003. In December 2003, the
constructors of the arch, subcontractors Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company of
Darlington, warned Multiplex about rising costs and a delay on the steel job of almost a year due
to Multiplex design changes which Multiplex rejected[clarification needed]. Cleveland Bridge withdrew
from the project and replaced by Dutch firm Hollandia with all the attendant problems of starting
over. 2004 also saw errors, most notably a fatal accident involving carpenter Patrick O'Sullivan
for which construction firm PC Harrington Contractors were fined 150,000 in relation to
breaches of health and safety laws.[20]
In October 2005, Sports Minister Richard Caborn announced: "They say the Cup Final will be
there, barring six feet of snow or something like that". By November 2005, WNSL were still
hopeful of a handover date of 31 March, in time for the cup final on 13 May. However, in
December 2005, the builders admitted that there was a "material risk" that the stadium might not
be ready in time for the final.[21][22] In February 2006 these worries were confirmed, with the FA
moving the game to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
Construction of the new Wembley, looking east, taken January 2006

On 20 March 2006, a steel rafter in the roof of the new development fell by 1 12 ft (46 cm),
forcing 3,000 workers to evacuate the stadium and raising further doubts over the completion
date which was already behind schedule.[23] On 23 March 2006, sewers beneath the stadium
buckled due to ground movement.[24] GMB Union leader Steve Kelly said that the problem had
been caused by the pipes not being properly laid, and that the repair would take months.
Rumours circulated that the reason for the blockage was due to Multiplex failing to pay the
contractors who laid the pipes who then filled in the pipes with concrete. A spokesman for
developers Multiplex said that they did not believe this would "have any impact on the
completion of the stadium", which was then scheduled to be completed on 31 March 2006.
On 30 March 2006, the developers announced that Wembley Stadium would not be ready until
2007.[25] All competitions and concerts planned were to be moved to suitable locations. On 19
June 2006 it was announced that the turf had been laid. On 19 October 2006 it was announced
that the venue was now set to open in early 2007 after the dispute between The Football
Association and Multiplex had finally been settled. WNSL was expected to pay around 36m to
Multiplex, on top of the amount of the original fixed-price contract. The total cost of the project
(including local transport infrastructure redevelopment and the cost of financing) was estimated
to be 1 billion (roughly US$2 billion).
For the new stadium the level of the pitch was lowered. During excavation of the new playing
field, mechanical diggers unearthed a buried obstruction: the concrete foundations of Watkin's
Tower, a failed attempt to construct a rival to the Eiffel Tower in London. Only the base of the
tower was ever built before being abandoned and demolished in 1907; the site was later used as
the location for the first Wembley Stadium.[26]
Handover and opening[edit]
The statue of Bobby Moore stands outside the stadium entrance, looking down Wembley Way
The new stadium was completed and handed over to the FA on 9 March 2007. The official
Wembley Stadium website had announced that the stadium would be open for public viewing for
local residents of Brent on 3 March 2007, however this was delayed by two weeks and instead
happened on 17 March.
While the stadium had hosted football matches since the handover in March, the stadium was
officially opened on Saturday 19 May, with the staging of the 2007 FA Cup Final. Eight days
before that on Friday 11 May, the statue of Bobby Moore had been unveiled by Sir Bobby
Charlton outside the stadium entrance, as the "finishing touch" to the completion of the stadium.
The twice life-size bronze statue, sculpted by Philip Jackson, depicts England's 1966 World Cup
winning captain Bobby Moore, looking down Olympic Way.[27][28][29]
Structure[edit]
The stadium contains 2,618 toilets, more than any other venue in the world.[30]
The stadium has a circumference of 1 km (0.62 mi).[31]
The bowl volume is listed at 1,139,100 m3, somewhat smaller than the Millennium
Stadium in Cardiff, but with a greater seating capacity.[32]
At its peak, there were more than 3,500 construction workers on site.[33]
4,000 separate piles form the foundations of the new stadium,[31] the deepest of which is
35 m (115 ft).[31]
There are 56 km (35 mi) of heavy-duty power cables in the stadium.[31]
90,000 m3 (120,000 yd3) of concrete and 23,000 tonnes (25,000 short tons) of steel were
used in the construction of the new stadium.[31]
The total length of the escalators is 400 m ( mi).[31]
The Wembley Arch has a cross-sectional diameter greater than that of a cross-channel
Eurostar train.[34][35]
Pitch[edit]
Wembley Stadium pitch during England friendly against Germany in August 2007.
The new pitch is 13 ft (4.0 m) lower than the previous pitch.[citation needed] The pitch size, as lined for
association football, is 115 yd (105 m) long by 75 yd (69 m) wide, slightly narrower than the old
Wembley, as required by the UEFA stadium categories for a category four stadium, the top
category.
Since the completion of the new Wembley, the pitch has come into disrepute since it was
described as being "no good" and "not in the condition that Wembley used to be known for" by
Slaven Bili before the game between England and the team he managed, Croatia.[36] It was
confirmed when the pitch was terribly cut up during the game, which was blamed by some[37] as
the reason England did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2008.[38] The Football Association admitted in
April 2009 after the FA Cup semi-finals that improvements are needed to the Wembley pitch
after criticism of the surface by Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsne Wenger and David Moyes. The grass
has been relaid ten times since the stadium re-opened in 2007 and was relaid again in the
summer of 2009, ahead of the 2009 Community Shield.[39][40]
In March 2010, the surface was relaid for the 10th time since 2007, when the stadium was built.
In April 2010, the pitch was again criticised following the FA Cup semi-finals, during which the
players found it difficult to keep their footing and the surface cut up despite the dry conditions.
The then Tottenham Hotspur boss, Harry Redknapp labelled it a "disgrace" after his side's semifinal defeat to Portsmouth.[41] After the 2010 FA Cup Final, Chelsea captain John Terry said, "The
pitch ruined the final. It's probably the worst pitch we've played on all year. It was not good
enough for a Wembley pitch."[42] It was relaid with Desso semi-artificial pitch, ahead of the 2010
community shield game between Chelsea and Manchester United. Michael Owen, who
previously criticised the pitch for causing him injury, said that it was much improved.[43]
Covering[edit]
Close-up of the arch

The stadium roof has an area of 40,000 m2, of which 13,722 m2 is movable.[32] The primary reason
for the sliding roof was to avoid shading the pitch, as grass demands direct sunlight to grow
effectively.[44] The sliding roof design minimises the shadow by having the roof pulled back on
the east, west and south.[45] Angus Campbell, chief architect, also said that an aim was for the
pitch to be in sunlight during the match between the beginning of May and the end of June,
between 3 pm and 5 pm, which is when the FA and World cups would be played. However it was
mentioned during live commentary of the FA Cup Final in 2007 that the pitch was in partial
shade at the start at 3 pm and also during the match.[46]
The stadium roof rises to 52 metres above the pitch and is supported by an arch rising 133 metres
above the level of the external concourse. With a span of 315 metres, the arch is the longest
single span roof structure in the world.[31]
Litigation[edit]
The Australian firm Multiplex, which was the main contractor on Wembley Stadium, made
significant losses on the project.[47][48] In an attempt to recoup some of those losses, the firm has
initiated a number of legal cases against its sub-contractors and consultants.[49] The largest of
these the largest construction claim in UK legal history was a claim for 253 million against
the structural engineering consultants Mott MacDonald.[50] In preliminary hearings the two
architecture practices which worked for Multiplex on the project were ordered to allow
Multiplex access to their records in order for them to build a case. The practices, Foster +
Partners and Populous, estimated the costs of providing access and answering Multiplex's queries
at 5 million.[51] The case was not due to be heard until January 2011.[52] Mott MacDonald has
issued a counter-claim for unpaid fees of 250,000.[50] The dispute between Multiplex (now
known as Brookfield) and Mott MacDonald was settled out of court in June 2010, the judge
having warned that costs were likely to be more than 74 million.[53]
Multiplex also took the original steel contractor, Cleveland Bridge, to court to claim up to
38 million[54] compensation for costs resulting from Cleveland Bridge walking away from the
job. Cleveland Bridge, in turn, claimed up to 15 million from Multiplex. The case was finally
resolved in September 2008 with Cleveland Bridge ordered to pay 6.1 million in damages and
20% of Multiplex's costs after the court found Cleveland Bridge was in the wrong to walk off
site. The judge criticised both sides for allowing the case to reach court, pointing out that total
costs were 22 million, including 1 million for photocopying.[55] Multiplex's ultimate bill is
estimated to be over 10 million.
Multiplex is also contesting a claim from its concrete contractor, PC Harrington, that Multiplex
owes 13.4 million to PC Harrington.[56]
Tenants[edit]
Wembley Stadium during the 2007 Race of Champions

The English national football team is a major user of Wembley Stadium. Given the ownership by
The Football Association as of 10 March 2007, the League Cup final moved back to Wembley
from Cardiff following the FA Cup final and FA Community Shield. Other showpiece football
matches that were previously staged at Wembley, such as the Football League promotion playoffs and the Football League Trophy final, have returned to the stadium, as has the Football
Conference play-off final. Additionally, the Rugby League Challenge Cup final returned to
Wembley Stadium in 2007, and the stadium also hosted both semi-finals of the 2013 Rugby
League World Cup. The new Wembley was a significant part of the plan for the 2012 Summer
Olympics in London; the stadium was the site of several games in both the men's and women's
football tournaments, with the finals being held there.[57] Additionally, Wembley was one of the
13 2015 Rugby World Cup venues.
Logo of the FA as displayed on the exterior of Wembley Stadium

The Race of Champions staged their 2007[58] and 2008 events at the stadium.[59]
Wembley Stadium during the London 2012 Olympic Games football tournament
Wembley has had a long association with American Football. A United States Football League
game was staged there in 1984,[60] and between 1986 and 1993 the old Wembley Stadium hosted
eight National Football League exhibition games featuring 13 different NFL teams.[61] Since the
new Wembley Stadium opened in 2007 Wembley has hosted games during the NFL regular
season. As a result of this, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated in October 2009 that "he
expects the NFL will start playing multiple regular-season games in Britain in the next few years,
an expansion that could lead to putting a franchise in London."[62] On 20 January 2012, the league
announced that the St. Louis Rams would become a temporary tenant of Wembley Stadium,
playing an annual game at the stadium every year from 2012 to 2014; part of the reason the
Rams were chosen was the fact that the team is owned by Stan Kroenke, who also is majority
shareholder in a local Premier League team, Arsenal.[63] However, the Rams later cancelled their
20132014 games,[64] leading to the Jacksonville Jaguars becoming new temporary tenants and
hosting games in London from 20132016.[65] This was later extended to 2020.[66]
Music[edit]
The stage at the Live Earth concert held at Wembley on 7 July 2007.
Besides football, Wembley can be configured to hold many other events, particularly major
concerts but also private events like weddings and conferences.[67] This is an economic necessity
given that the stadium ended up costing the FA much more than was originally projected. The
regular covering of the pitch for concerts has led to the pitch being relaid often (see elsewhere in
this article). Regular changes to the pitch mean that it never matches the quality of its
surroundings, or of the pitch of the old Wembley in its later years.
The first concert at the new stadium was given by George Michael on 9 June 2007.[68] Bon Jovi
were scheduled to be the first artists to perform at the new Wembley but the late completion of
the stadium saw the concerts relocated to the National Bowl and the KC Stadium.
Muse became the first band to sell out the new stadium on 16 and 17 June 2007, and released a
live DVD of the performance.
Other acts to have performed at the stadium are Metallica, The Killers, Green Day, Foo Fighters,
Madonna, Coldplay, Oasis, Take That and AC/DC.[69]
Wembley Stadium hosted Take That Present: The Circus Live for 4 nights in summer 2009. The
tour became the fastest selling tour in UK in history[70] before that record was broken by Take
That two years later with their Progress Live tour.
Two large charity concerts have been held at the new Wembley stadium, the Concert for Diana, a
memorial concert to commemorate ten years after the death of Princess Diana, and Live Earth, a
concert hosted at Wembley as part of the Live Earth Foundation, committed to combating
climate change.
Take That concert

95.8 Capital FM's Summertime Ball, which was previously hosted with 55,000 spectators at the
Arsenal Emirates Stadium and slightly less in Hyde Park (as Party in the Park), was hosted at
Wembley Stadium on 6 June 2010, and was headlined by Rihanna and Usher. The move to
Wembley allowed many more fans to watch the annual music event which has previously lasted
over 5 hours with more than 15 performers. It is thought to be the biggest commercial music
event held at the stadium.[citation needed]It has since returned to the Stadium in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
and again in 2015 on 6 June.
American punk rock band Green Day continued their world tour, playing at Wembley on 19 June
2010. The gig was Green Day's biggest audience yet with over 90,000.[71]
Las Vegas band The Killers played their largest-ever sold out audience of 80,000 on 22 June
2013. They performed a song specially written for the Wembley Stadium: The Wembley Song.
Brandon Flowers, lead singer for The Killers said "We've written a song for this joyous
occasion." And proceeded to sing about some of Wembley's great moments, its history from the
Twin Towers to present day arch.[72]
Muse returned to Wembley Stadium on 10 and 11 September 2010 as part of their Resistance
Tour to a sell-out crowd, having previously played there in June 2007.
Madonna played Wembley in 2008 during her Sticky and Sweet Tour, to a sold-out audience of
74,000. The event has surpassed all gross revenue for a single concert at Wembley, grossing
nearly US$12 million.[73]
Take That played a record breaking 8 nights at Wembley Stadium in summer 2011 on their
Progress Live tour, which has become the fastest and biggest selling tour in UK history.[74]
623,737 people attended the 8 shows at the stadium.[citation needed]
The Olympics meant that no concerts took place at Wembley in summer 2012, with other big
shows taking place elsewhere. In summer 2013, there were seven big shows. The first act to
perform at the venue was Bruce Springsteen, who played his first show at the new stadium on 15
June. One week later, American rock band The Killers performed their biggest headline show at
the venue on 22 June. Robbie Williams then performed four solo concerts at the stadium on 29
and 30 June, and on 2 and 5 July after previously performing with Take That at the stadium in
2011. The summer's final show saw former Pink Floyd bass guitarist Roger Waters play at the
venue on 14 September as part of The Wall Live tour.
Concerts[edit]
[show]List of concerts
On 1617 June 2007, Muse became the first artist to sell out the new Wembley Stadium
with a crowd of 180,000 fans in two nights.[citation needed]
On 11 September 2008, Madonna performed to a sell-out crowd of over 74,000 fans and
a gross of over US$12 million and surpassed all previous grosses at both the old and the
new Wembley Stadium.[citation needed]
U2 performed to a record 82,000 fans each night on 14 and 15 August 2009. The U2 360
Tour stage was designed to cater to fans positioned behind the stage.
Eminem became the first rapper to headline at Wembley Stadium performing on 11 and
12 July 2014.[76]
Ed Sheeran became the first solo artist to headline at Wembley Stadium without a band,
selling out the stadium for three nights. He performed on 11, 12 and 13 July 2015,
playing to over 240,000 people.[citation needed]
Firsts at the new Wembley Stadium[edit]

Football[edit]
England fans create the St George's Cross

The first match at the stadium was a game played behind closed doors between Multiplex and
Wembley Stadium staff.[77] The first game in front of spectators was between the Geoff Thomas
Foundation Charity XI and the Wembley Sponsors Allstars on 17 March 2007. The Geoff
Thomas Foundation Charity XI won 20 (scorers Mark Bright and Simon Jordan).[78] The first
official match involving professional players was England U21s vs Italy U21s on 24 March
2007, which finished 33. Official attendance was 55,700 (although all of the 60,000 tickets that
were made available were sold in advance).[79] The first player to score in a FIFA sanctioned
match was Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini after 28 seconds of the same game. Pazzini went on
to score twice more in the second half of the match making him the first person to score a hattrick at Wembley Stadium since Paul Scholes for England in 2000 against Poland in Kevin
Keegan's first game in charge. The first English player to score in a full-scale match was David
Bentley with a free kick in the same game.[79]
The first club game, competitive game, and cup final held at the new Wembley took place on 12
May 2007 when Kidderminster Harriers met Stevenage Borough in the FA Trophy final.[80]
Kidderminster striker James Constable was the first player to score a goal in a final at the new
Wembley. Kidderminster became the first team to play at both the old and new stadium.
Stevenage Borough were the first team to win a final at the new Wembley beating Kidderminster
32, despite trailing 20 at half time. The first players to play at both the old and new Wembley
stadia were Steve Guppy (for Stevenage Borough) and Jeff Kenna (for Kidderminster Harriers).
Ex-England international Guppy was the first player to win a final at both stadia (with Leicester
City, Wycombe Wanderers and Stevenage). Ronnie Henry was the first ever player to lift a
competitive club trophy at the new Wembley.[81]
Tottenham Hotspur celebrate winning the Football League Cup in 2008
Wembley hosted the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia
Dortmund
The first penalty save and first red card came in the Conference National playoff final between
Exeter City and Morecambe. The penalty was saved by Paul Jones of Exeter City from
Morecambe striker Wayne Curtis. The red card was given to Matthew Gill of Exeter for a
headbutt on Craig Stanley of Morecambe.[82]
The first Football League teams to play at Wembley in a competitive fixture were Bristol Rovers
and Shrewsbury Town in the 2007 Football League Two play-off Final on 26 May 2007.
Shrewsbury Town became the first league team to score at Wembley and also the first league
team to have a player sent off. Bristol Rovers won the game 31 in front of 61,589 which was a
stadium record until the Championship play-off final two days later when Derby County beat
West Bromwich Albion 10 to become the first team at the new stadium to win promotion to the
FA Premier League.
The first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley (between Manchester United and Chelsea) was on 19
May 2007. Chelsea won 10 with a goal by Didier Drogba, making him the first player to score
in the FA Cup final at the new Wembley. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr ech also became the first
goalkeeper not to concede a goal in a competitive game at Wembley. Chelsea were the last
winners of the cup final at the old Wembley and the first winners at the new.
The first game involving the full English national team was a friendly played on 1 June 2007,
against Brazil. The match saw captain John Terry become the first England international goal
scorer at the new stadium when he scored in the 68th minute. Diego became the first full
international player to score for a visiting team when he scored in stoppage time, with the fulltime result being a 11 draw. The first competitive senior international was played on 8
September 2007 between England and Israel. This game ended 30. The first player to score
international goals at both the old and new stadia was Michael Owen when he scored for
England against Israel. On 22 August Germany beat England 21 to become the first team to
beat them in the new Wembley Stadium. England's first competitive defeat at the new stadium
was on 21 November 2007 when Croatia won 32. This match cost England qualification to
Euro 2008 and head coach Steve McClaren his job.
Celtic were the first Scottish team to win a trophy at the new Wembley. Competing in the first
year of the Wembley Cup in July 2009, against English side Tottenham, Egyptian side Al-Ahly
and the 2009 European Champions, Barcelona.
Swansea City were the first Welsh team to win a trophy at the new Wembley, winning the 2013
Football League Cup Final 50 over then League Two side Bradford City.
Wembley Stadium hosted the UEFA Champions League Final on 28 May 2011 between FC
Barcelona and Manchester United.[83] Wembley also hosted the 2013 UEFA Champions League
Final, making it the second time in 3 years.[84] The event was held to mark the 150th anniversary
of The Football Association.
A panorama of Wembley during the half time period of an England game

During the 2012 Olympic Games Great Britain defeated Brazil in the first women's international
to take place at the stadium.[85] On 23 November the England women's team played at the stadium
for the first time when they lost 30 to Germany in a friendly.[86]
Rugby league[edit]
Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers line up at Wembley Stadium before the 2014 Challenge Cup
final.
The Rugby league Challenge Cup Final had been played annually at the old Wembley Stadium
since 1929. In 2007 the cup final returned to its traditional home after the rebuilding of Wembley.
[87]
When Catalans Dragons played St Helens in the 2007 Challenge Cup Final, they became the
first non-English rugby league team to play in the final. The result saw St Helens retain the cup
by a score of 308 before 84,241 fans.[88] The first Rugby League team to win a game at the new
Wembley Stadium, were Normanton Freeston. The West Yorkshire secondary school beat
Castleford High School in the Year 7 boys Carnegie Champion Schools final, which was played
immediately prior to the 2007 Challenge Cup Final.[89] The first official try at the renovated
Wembley was scored by James Roby of St Helens, although Luke Metcalfe of Castleford High
School scored the first try in the schools game that took place before the 2007 Challenge Cup
final.[90]
In 2011, International rugby league returned to Wembley for the first time since 1997 when
Wales lost to New Zealand 036[91] and Australia beat host nation England 3620[92] in the 2011
Rugby League Four Nations. The semi-finals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup were played
at Wembley Stadium where defending champions New Zealand piped England 2018, and
eventual tournament champions Australia thrashed Fiji 640. The double header drew 67,575
fans to Wembley, the second highest international crowd at either the original or the new
stadium.
Castleford Academy (formerly Castleford High School) currently hold the record for the most
Rugby League appearances at the New Wembley Stadium. On 24 August 2013 their Year 7
Rugby team played RGS High Wycombe in the annual schools curtain-raiser to the Challenge
Cup final.[93] This was Castleford Academy's 4th appearance at the stadium since 2007. This puts
them joint with Leeds and one appearance ahead of Warrington.
Rugby union[edit]
The first top level rugby union match was a non-cap match between the Barbarians and Australia
on 3 December 2008.[94]
Since 2009, the stadium has been used regularly by Saracens for some major Aviva Premiership,
Heineken Cup and International matches. Their Aviva Premiership clash with Harlequins in 2012
was played before a crowd of 83,761, a world record for a rugby union club match. In 2014 the
teams faced again in front of 83,889 spectators.[95] The 2015 match between Saracens and
Harlequins had a new world record attendance of 84,068.[96]
The stadium was also used during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, during which it hosted two pool
matches:
Year
Date
20 September
2015
27 September
Match
Pool C
Match
Pool D
Match
Country
New
Zealand
Ireland
Score
Country
Attendance
2616
Argentina
89,019[97]
4410
Romania
89,267[98]
The 89,019 crowd for the New Zealand versus Argentina game set a new record attendance for a
Rugby World Cup game.[97] The Ireland versus Romania match one week later improved this
record again to 89,267.[98] Although the 90,000 seat Wembley was the largest stadium used during
the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the World Cup Final was held at the 82,000 seat Twickenham
Stadium, the traditional home of the tournament's host, England's Rugby Football Union.
American football[edit]
Main article: NFL International Series
Build up to the 2010 game between Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers
On 28 October 2007, in front of 81,176 fans, the New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins
by a score of 1310 in the first regular season NFL game ever to be played in Europe, and the
first outside of North America.[99] The first touchdown scored at Wembley was on a run by Giants'
quarterback Eli Manning. The NFL have hosted at least one regular season game a year at
Wembley since.
On 21 August 2012, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced a four-year deal to become temporary
tenants of Wembley by playing one regular season game each year between 2013 and 2016 and
becoming the first team to return to Wembley in consecutive years[100]
On 16 October 2012, the NFL announced there were to be two NFL regular season games played
at Wembley Stadium during the 2013 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings on 29
September 2013 and the San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars on 27 October 2013. This is
an attempt by the NFL to strengthen the NFL fanbase in London and internationally. Future plans
to have a permanent NFL team in London may come to fruition considering the coming years of
growth.[101]
Another first was recorded in 2014 as three regular season NFL games were played at Wembley.
The Oakland Raiders hosted the Miami Dolphins on 28 September at 6 pm BST, the Atlanta
Falcons hosted the Detroit Lions on 26 October at 1:30 pm GMT and the Jacksonville Jaguars
hosted the Dallas Cowboys on 9 November at 6 pm GMT.[102] At 9:30 am ET, the Detroit-Atlanta
game was the earliest kick off in NFL history and gave fans a unique four game window on this
day.[103]
In 2015, another first was recorded as the first ever divisional match took place at Wembley
between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
Boxing[edit]
On 31 May 2014, Wembley Stadium hosted its first boxing event, featuring the rematch between
Carl Froch and George Groves for the IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles.[104] The contest
was held in front of a crowd of 80,000 spectators, a British post-war attendance record for a
boxing event, surpassing the crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium when it hosted Ricky
Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano in May 2008.[105]
Transport connections[edit]
The stadium is described as a "public transport destination"[106] for which parking is available on a
very limited basis. To alleviate the impact of vehicular traffic on the local residents and
businesses, Brent Council have introduced a number of measures in relation to on street parking
and to access restrictions of roads that surround the stadium.
The "Wembley Stadium Protective Parking Scheme" sets a boundary in which parking on street
is restricted to only those that hold an event day parking permit. Road closures are in force from
10:00 am on the event day until midnight and apply to Fulton Road, Engineers Way and South
Way.[107]
A map of Wembley Stadium in relation to Olympic Way, Wembley Central, Wembley Stadium
and Wembley Park stations, and the A406 North Circular Road (bottom right)
Rail and Underground[edit]
The stadium is connected to two London Underground stations: Wembley Park Station (on the
Metropolitan and Jubilee lines) via Olympic Way, and Wembley Central (Bakerloo line) via the
White Horse Bridge. Rail links are provided at Wembley Central (London Overground, Southern
and London Midland services) and Wembley Stadium railway station (Chiltern Railways
services).
Stations near by:
Service
London Underground
London Overground
National Rail
Station
Lines
Wembley Park
Wembley Central
Wembley Stadium
Watford DC Line
Southern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Onsite parking[edit]
The onsite parking facility is shared with Wembley Arena, essentially being the open air surface
parking surrounding the eastern flank of Wembley Stadium and the multi-storey car park. These
are called Green Car Park and Red Car Park respectively. There is disabled parking available
onsite, at the Green Car Park, at a reduced rate but on a first come first served basis. On some
football event dates, opposing team supporters have been separated into the two different car
parks.
Bus[edit]
London Bus routes near by:[108][109]
Route
83
92
182
206
223
224
297
Start
Golders Green
St Raphael's North
Brent Cross
Kilburn Park
Wembley
Wembley Stadium Station
Willesden
End
Ealing Hospital
Ealing Hospital
Harrow Weald
Wembley Park
Harrow
St Raphael's Estate
Ealing Broadway
Operator
Metroline
Metroline
Metroline
Metroline
Metroline
Metroline
Metroline

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High-tech architecture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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860880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, completed 1951, Chicago

The John Hancock Center, completed 1969, Chicago

The Lloyd's building, completed 1986, London

The Internationales Congress Centrum Berlin opened in 1979.

Torre Agbar in Barcelona was completed in 2004.

Irvine Company headquarters, Newport Beach, California, United States (William

Willis Tower, Chicago, Illinois, United States (Bruce Graham, 1973)

Hopkins House, London, UK (Michael Hopkins and Partners, 1976)

BNZ Centre, Wellington, New Zealand (Stephenson & Turner, 1983)

Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom (Hopkins

Lloyd's Building, London, United Kingdom (Richard Rogers, 1986)

Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong (I.M. Pei, 1989)

Hotel Arts, Barcelona, Spain (Bruce Graham, 1992)

ikov TV Tower, Prague, Czech Republic (1992)

Lord's Media Centre, London, United Kingdom (Future Systems, 1999)

City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom (Arup, 2002)

30 St. Mary Axe, London, United Kingdom (Norman Foster, 2003)

Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Spain (Jean Nouvel, 2005)

Marquette Plaza, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (Gunnar Birkerts, 1973)

Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom (Norman Foster, 2006)

Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Diagonal Zero Zero, Barcelona, Spain (Enric Massip-Bosch, 2011)

Mercury City Tower, Moscow IBC, Russia (Frank Williams, 2013)

High Tech (sau Hi-Tech)

Centre Georges Pompidou

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Centre Georges Pompidou

Culture and Leisure

Architectural style Postmodern / High-Tech

Steel superstructure with reinforced

Design and construction

Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and

Structural engineer Arup

Centre Georges Pompidou (French pronunciation: [st ppidu]; commonly shortened to

4.2.3 North America

4.2.4 South America

6 Use in film and television

42 m (Rue Beaubourg side), 45.5 m (Piazza side)

15,000 tonnes of steel

Faades, glass surfaces

Pablo Picasso's works

The Centre Pompidou-Metz.

Branch in Mlaga (Spain)

since 2015: Serge Lasvignes

2007 - 2015: Alain Seban

2002 - 2007: Bruno Racine

1996 - 2002: Jean-Jacques Aillagon

1993 - 1996: Franois Barr

1991 - 1993: Dominique Bozo

1989 - 1991: Hlne Ahrweiler

1983 - 1989: Jean Maheu

1980 - 1983: Jean-Claude Groshens

1977 - 1980: Jean Millier

1976 - 1977: Robert Bordaz

Part of the expositions in the Centre

As a national museum, the Centre Pompidou is government-owned and subsidized by the

Gordon Matta-Clark Conical Intersect, 1975. Matta-Clarks contribution to the

Roberto Rossellini, Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture, 1977.[40] A

Claude Pinoteau, L'tudiante, 1988.