The Green Building Award:

Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, Dublin 4

Scott Tallon Walker Architects

Architects
Populous and Scott Tallon Walker Architects
Client
Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company Ltd.(LRSDC)
Project Managers
Project Management Ltd.
Quantity Surveyors
Keogh McConnell Spence / Franklin Sports Ltd.
Civil & Structural Engineers
Buro Happold
Services Engineers
ME Engineers Ltd.
Fire Consultant
Michael Slattery Associates
Planning Consultant
Tom Phillips & Associates
Main Contractor
John Sisk & Son
Project size
66,460 m2 (50,000 seats)
Value:
410m Development cost
Completion
30th April 2010

Scott Tallon Walker Architects Green Building Award - Aviva Stadium

From the outset the client emphasised their commitment to minimising the stadiums
impact on its environment and to ensuring that the stadiums legacy is a positive one.
This philosophy was central to the approach taken to all aspects of the project from
design through to operation.

The clients decision to remain on their existing site only 2km from St. Stephens Green
means that the stadium is readily accessible to the city centre and the rest of the country
by public transport. The stadium is on the DART railway line and the existing adjacent
station was enlarged during the redevelopment to cater for match day use.

Due to their scale and complex nature, no environmental assessment tool has yet been
developed specically for Stadia, however, FIFA has initiated its Green Goal programme.
The principal goals of the programme are: the reduction in the consumption of potable
water, the avoidance and / or reduction of waste, the creation of a more efcient energy
system and an increase in the use of public transport to events. The Aviva stadium
addresses all of these issues in its design and operation.

A detailed demolition and construction waste management strategy was developed for
the project. During the construction phase concrete from the old stadium was crushed
and reused as the sub-base to roads around the site and as ll to form new levels. The
top soil from the old pitch was stripped, stored and reused in the new pitch. Contractors
waste was segregated and recycled where possible and noise was strictly controlled by
use of dB meters around the site.




 














    

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Scott Tallon Walker Architects Green Building Award - Aviva Stadium

As an integral part of the design process, positive action was taken to minimise the
embodied energy used in the construction of the stadium, to reduce the energy consumed
when it is in use and to minimize the stadiums broader environmental impacts.
- The innovative transparent roof and facade design maximises daylight to the building interior
and to the pitch.

Detail of external cladding

The innovative external envelope consists of a specially developed polycarbonate sheeting which absorbs
harmful UV radiation while also allowing daylight to stream into the building. At half the weight of glass
use of the polycarbonate sheet reduces the amount of material required for structural supports. The
polycarbonate being a plastic is a fully recyclable material.

- Low carbon concrete was used in the stadium structure to reduce the embodied energy of
the building while also achieving a high standard of nish in the exposed in-situ and pre-cast
concrete. The CO2 saving achieved through the specication of ground granulated blast furnace
slag cement is estimated at 4000 tonnes, equating to 6, 896,500 kWh of electricity.
- All timber was specied to be from sustainable resources.
- Conservation of water is achieved through the specication of waterless urinals, sensor taps and
dual ush cisterns. It is estimated that the use of waterless urinals provides a saving of 20,000
litres of water on an event day alone. With an average of 20 large scale events every year this
represents an annual saving of 400,000 litres. Day to day savings are in addition to this.
- Rainwater is harvested, treated and stored for use in the pitch irrigation system. The capacity
of the tanks, is 250,000 litres, which is sufcient for approx. 6 days irrigation.
- The lighting control system is a distributed intelligent control system where PCS are used for
central control and monitoring of the 18,000 low energy light ttings throughout the building. The
stadium operators are able to set up entire zones, individual rooms, sports lighting etc before
an event, such that areas that are not in use can be easily identied and deactivated.
- Each of the four diesel powered 1700kVA generators is tted with full heat recovery circuits
enabling 4MW of useful heat to be used for heating water for bathrooms, kitchens and the
under pitch heating system.
- Those areas that are in use on an event day only (levels 01 and 05) are not heated and are
naturally ventilated.
- All pumps and air handling plant are the inverter drive type to reduce energy consumption.
- Energy saving features of the Building Management System include intelligent controls for
energy consuming installations e.g escalators which are tted with sensors ensuring they only
operate when required.
- Sports lighting was carefully modelled, with glare shields and long visors specied to minimise
light spill from the stadium bowl.
- Services equipment was specied to emit not greater than 53dB at one metre to ensure the
stadium has a minimal impact on background noise.

Scott Tallon Walker Architects Green Building Award - Aviva Stadium

The building is powered using electricity and gas. Diesel fueled generators are used on
event day to avoid overloading the electricity grid. The buildings energy usage was
modeled through Integrated Building Analysis Software Systems. The projected energy
usage for electricity is 181 kWhr/m2 of treated oor area per annum and 319 kWhr/m2
of treated oor per annum for space and water heating.

The stadium is designed not only to cater for international matches but as a fully exible
venue competing within Irelands events and conferencing market. It is a fully accessible
building and came joint rst in the inaugural ONCE awards for accessibility at the 2010
World Architecture awards.

The stadium is closely monitoring its energy use. Figures for the last quarter of 2010
(the extremely busy winter period) indicate energy use in line with projections.

Aviva Stadium in operation is a BS8901 certied venue with the Stadium management
committed to a pragmatic and long lasting approach which will be adapted and improved
as technology advances and so will continue to incorporate environmental initiatives as
they develop.

Premium level double height space

Naturally ventilated General Admission (GA) concourse

7
6
5
4
3

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
G

Plant Mezzanine
Plant Level
Upper GA Concourse
Box Concourse
Upper Premium Concourse
Lower Premium Concourse
Lower GA Concourse
Service Level

2
1
G

Scott Tallon Walker Architects Green Building Award - Aviva Stadium