Seminar and Technical Writing – I

PA-493

Sustainability in Stadium Architecture

Shritam Shubhashish | 114AR0016 | 7th Semester
Under the guidance of Prof. Simantini Behera
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

Contents
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2
Background ............................................................................................................................... 2
Sustainability ............................................................................................................................. 3
Challenges and their Solutions: ................................................................................................ 3
 Energy usage: ................................................................................................................. 3
 water usage .................................................................................................................... 5
 Material use: ..................................................................................................................6
 Waste management: ......................................................................................................6
Case Studies:.............................................................................................................................. 7
National stadium: Kaohsiung, Taiwan ................................................................................. 7
olympic park: london, england ............................................................................................. 7
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................8

PAGE 1
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

Abstract
The following report shows about how to tackle one of the major problems in this era
which is to attain sustainability in one of the complex building structure called stadiums.
The various methods through which sustainability can be brought on to a stadium has
been described throughout the report. For the better understanding of the topic two case
studies have also been provided which uses different methods to gain sustainability.

Introduction
Nowadays in the world one of the major aspect all around is to create sustainable
buildings which not only will consume less energy but also will be the provider of the
same. Among them, Sport stadiums are some of the most complex and intricate
buildings constructed throughout the world. These buildings can be extremely high
energy users and take up many acres of city or countryside space. It is imperative that
sustainable concepts and strategies, in design, construction, and operations, are used to
help protect our environment, and contribute to the communities who house them.

Background
Sports stadiums have a considerable impact on the urban, environmental, and social
context. In particular, where several new stadiums are built within the same city for a
single mega-event like the Olympic Games, the implications are significantly higher. Not
only are natural resources (land, water, energy production, food) consumed at high
rates, these stadia also include large amount of waste generation, large movements of
people and other sustainability issues that can be addressed with proper stadium
development.
The example of Barcelona after the Summer Olympics of 1992 can be taken into
account. Although the Olympic event helped in reducing the unemployment of the city to
a certain extent but the magnitude of the good deeds was nowhere comparable to the
damage it did through the waste generation and energy.
Therefore, the requirements for operation of each stadium after the mega-event
are of great importance in order to ensure sustainable integration into the urban,
environmental, and social context with a maximized utilization of each sports stadium on
a long-term basis.

PAGE 2
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

Sustainability
Sustainable architecture is the architecture that seeks to minimize the negative
environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials,
energy, and development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable architecture
uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the
built environment.
Sustainability is a broad term
describing a desire to carry out activities
without depleting resources or having harmful
impacts. It is a wholesome thing which can’t
be achieved by compensating a thing or two.
In order to gain sustainability social,
environmental and economic development
must co-exist.

Challenges and their Solutions:

When dealing with stadiums, utilizing an integrated design process
is of paramount importance in properly developing and integrating the above strategies
into the stadium design. There are several challenges which needs to be solved in order
to make a sustainable stadium design.

 ENERGY USAGE:
Energy consumption is one of the greatest concerns for large sports stadiums.
Even though they are often infrequently used, the amount of energy used during
a single game can be quite massive. Except the days when Game is being
played (roughly around 50 days a year), there are tours, maintenance, cleaning,
offices, etc. that all use energy throughout the year. Energy use in stadium come
from a variety of sources– Lighting, HVAC systems, concessions etc.
Passive design can help reduce energy consumption and cost by as
much as 20%. Lowering the playing field below ground level is one of the most
important design elements can help in a variety of ways. It can benefit reduce
material cost, can help keep the pitch cooler, and with proper ventilation
techniques can assist to keep the spectators, employees, and athletes cooler as
well.

PAGE 3
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

The Dreamstyle University in New Mexico uses the passive design techniques
and has it’s playing lower
than the ground level which
helped in reducing the
material cost as the gallery
for the audiences
surrounding the ground could
be made by only excavating
and carving and the material
use was reduced by a huge
margin in compared to any
other stadium.

( Dreamstyle University Stadium in New Mexico)

There are essentially three different lighting areas in a stadium. There is the
lighting for the playing surface that is only used for evening and night games,
there is the lighting in the concourses, and there is lighting for the offices, suites,
bathrooms, etc. Lighting is by far the largest contributor of energy usage in sport
stadiums.
By the application of on-site renewable energy such as solar panels, wind turbines,
biomass, hydro, etc. consumption of energy can be reduced.

(Lincoln Financial Field Stadium’s front façade and the Turbine that is used in it)

The front facade of Lincoln Financial Field Stadium is covered with Solar Panels and on
the upper part it also has Wind Turbines to produce electricity. Thus making it one of the
best sustainable stadium of USA.

PAGE 4
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

Use of solar panels as covered parking can

be an effective way of generating electricity
as the stadiums usually require a huge
parking space.

Philadelphia Eagles Stadium uses the

cocnept of solar panels in covered parking
areas and produces enough energy to
provide electricity to the stadium through out
a year in the non-match days.

(Philadelphia Eagles Stadium’s covered parking)

Green roofs are another

excellent way to reduce
energy consumption,
reduce the amount of
greenhouse gases emitted,
and help reduce heat
island effect. A green roof
can help lower the indoor
temperature by up to 5°F,
which can lead to energy
saving of 5%.
Barclays Center stadium in
New York. The roof reduces
the urban heat island effect
and also cools down the
inner temperature of the stadium. (Barclays Center in New York)

 WATER USAGE
Depending on the geographical location of the stadium, many different water
retention and limited usage can be used. In areas of low water availability (arid
and semi-arid climates) the main goal must be to limit water consumption. In
areas with more rain fall, more sophisticated water retention techniques should
be used.
Non-potable water should be used to the highest extent possible. This
includes toilet flushing, irrigation, and kitchen uses. all sport stadia the toilets
should be low flow (0.8 gallons per flush vs 1.6 gallons per flush). A waterless
urinal can save 24,000 gallons of water per year alone (used in Miami Marlins
Park, 2014).
One of the largest single use consumers of water in sport stadia is field
irrigation. Many playing surfaces can use up to 20,000 litres of water a day. To
solve it, Bermuda turf grass can be used, which requires up to 50% less water

PAGE 5
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

than the average turf uses.

The grass used in Levi’s Stadium, USA is Bandera Bermuda turf grass,
which requires up to 50% less water than the average turf uses.

Rain Water collection is a key sustainable feature for large and small sport stadium.
During the seasons of play, the stadium can use this water captured for field irrigation,
toilet flushing, landscape irrigation, kitchen usage, etc. and still have enough water to
give back to the community.
Green roofs have many energy reduction qualities; however, they also play a
large part in water collection of a stadium. Green roof vegetation is designed in such a
way that limits the water need to maintain the vegetation. Green roofs can reduce total
annual run-off by as much as 60% - 79%. These numbers show the significant
advantages of having green roofs in a project which in fact can also be used in covered
parking, as architectural features.

 MATERIAL USE:
Minimizing materials will help reduce the energy needed to transport them and in turn
help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during construction. use of rapidly
replenishing and locally sourced materials. This includes bamboo, cork, straw,
cotton, wool, etc. These materials have a fast growth cycle that replenish quickly and
therefore do not deplete the Earth's natural resources.

 WASTE MANAGEMENT:
Recycling and composting initiatives are excellent ways to reduce waste during
games days. An average fan generates 2.44 pounds of waste per game day. In a
stadium with a capacity of 50,000 spectators that is equal to 122,000 pounds of waste
per game.
However, proper recycling and composting methods can help reduce this number by
95% or more. The most important aspect of creating a successful recycling and
composting program is to work with all the vendors to provide the most sustainable
products possible. Major sports teams are large consumers of everything from plastic-
ware to napkins to cans and bottles to food packaging and more. Contracts for these
services can be in the millions of dollars annually, therefore the sports teams have the
right (and obligation) to tell the vendors they want more sustainable options, or decide to
go with a more sustainable vendor. A great option to reduce the amount of plastic bottles
is to use soda and water fountains instead of selling by the bottle. Stadium
concessions can offer refills at a discounted price to entice users to keep using the same
cup.

PAGE 6
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

Case Studies:
NATIONAL STADIUM: KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN
The dragon shaped stadium, holds 50,000 seats and sits on a 19- hectare open space
created in addition to the stadium. The stadium is comprised of 8,844 solar panels which
creates approximately 1.14 million KWh/year. This electricity can power 100% of the
energy used during game/event days. On non-game/event days the Taiwanese
government plans to feed the electricity created by the solar panels to the grid. This
electricity can meet almost 80% of the surrounding neighbourhoods’ requirements.
The creative use of solar panels to depict the scales of a dragon is not only visually
stimulating, it provides a much needed positive impact to the community.

The stadium also utilized only raw materials sourced from Taiwan in the
construction of the stadium. These materials are also 100% reusable if need be. Within
the 19 hectares of public space, 7 hectares have been specifically set aside as public
green space. This space includes bike paths, sport parks, an ecological park and more.
Additionally, all plants occupying the area of the stadium have been transplanted and
new tropical plants and palm trees were planted as well.

OLYMPIC PARK: LONDON, ENGLAND

There are numerous other sustainable design features, outside of the removable
upper tier, that went into the formation of the Olympic Stadium, the stadium had almost
no construction waste sent to landfills. More than 98% of the demolition waste from
decrepit buildings that were torn down was recycled. Most of the waste was recycled,
reused, or sent to the waste-to-energy center.
Reducing the amount of material needed to build Olympic Stadium was one of the first
steps in making it a sustainable stadium. Most materials need to travel from far away to
arrive at a construction site; all transportation options (some more than others) emit
greenhouse gases. By reducing the amount of material needed to build the stadium, the
design team began limiting the stadium’s impact on the environment.

PAGE 7
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

The view of the Olympic Stadium in London and the different access to the Olympic
stadium from the nearby roads and creating a solution to the transportation related
problem as there were different paths designated for pedestrians and vehicles.

It was designed, and constructed, to use less than half the steel of a comparable
stadium, making it the lightest Olympic stadium to date. The stadium was also built with
more than one third of the material coming from recycled content.
to day operations and could be sold back to the grid to help lower the cost of
electricity Solar panels were also used on site to help lower the electricity needs of the
stadium. There are solar panels covering the press center roof and many of the car
parks. This electricity is used for day to the newly created sustainable neighborhood
surrounding the stadium.
It also includes a water harvesting system that utilizes the available non-
potable water for multiple uses. Solar panels were also used on site to help lower the
electricity needs of the stadium. Two other unique sustainable features that were
developed on site for the Olympic Stadium and surrounding area are the Energy Center
and the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Conclusion:
Modern stadiums have evolved to meet the comfort, safety, and entertainment needs of
the latest generation, while at the same time are becoming increasingly aware of
environmental stewardship and proper sustainable design practices. Using the proposed
sustainable strategies, stadiums stand to be critical pieces of the infrastructure for the
community. They can be providers of electricity and water.

While all the categories explored have clear environmental impacts, energy
usage and the associated carbon offsets, along with water usage are of the extreme
concerns to climate change and should be addressed thoroughly before project
inception in order to make a sustainable stadium design.

PAGE 8
 Sustainability in stadium architecture

References:
Nawari, N. O. (2015, June 01). Sustainable Design Strategies for Sport Stadia. Scholar
Commons, 3(1), 1-32.
“Levi's Stadium Efficiency” Edited by Henry Anderson, Levi's Stadium Efficiency,
large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph240/anderson-h2/
McGar, Justin. “What Makes a Stadium Sustainable?” Sourceable - Construction .
Design . Engineering . Property, 9 Jan. 2017, sourceable.net/makes-stadium-
sustainable/.
“What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important?” EnvironmentalScience.org,
www.environmentalscience.org/sustainability.

PAGE 9