海角视频

Everton FC: Hill Dickinson Stadium

Liverpool, UK

海角视频 helped Everton Football Club to create a landmark new stadium that will welcome supporters to be entertained in comfort and safety.

Established in 1878, the club was a founder club of the football league and is one of twelve clubs to have participated in the very first season 鈥� 1888鈥�89. The club鈥檚 current stadium, Goodison Park, officially opened on 24 August 1892.

To give fans the modern matchday experience they expected, Everton carried forward everything that made Goodison Park so special 鈥� the character, camaraderie and shared sense of tradition 鈥� into the creation of an inspirational new place to play and watch football. Set on Liverpool鈥檚 waterfront, the stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock reinvigorated a semi-derelict riverside site.

Named Hill Dickinson Stadium, this fully accessible venue accommodates 52,888 spectators and offers uninterrupted views of the pitch. A 鈥淔ootball First鈥� design approach elevated the fan experience by intensifying the atmosphere to maximise home advantage.

海角视频 was engaged to provide 16 key disciplines for the stadium.

Challenge

Everton defined 11 core principles 鈥� such as 鈥淎 platform for growth鈥� and 鈥淗arnessing the environment鈥� 鈥� to which the project adhered. It was manifestly important that everyone involved grasped this nuanced vision, which mixed sporting ambition, creative innovation and an uncompromising desire to create opportunities and improve life for the people of the Liverpool City Region. Reiterating the club鈥檚 civic commitment, the stadium鈥檚 design, functionality and aesthetics were refined through two stages of public consultation that drew more than 63,000 responses.

Constructing and operating the new facility presented a unique set of challenges. Most obviously, the dock upon which the stadium stands was full of water. Adding to the complexity of infilling, the dock鈥檚 retaining walls were listed at Grade II and had to be scrupulously preserved. Other heritage features considered included a boundary wall, a channel of water connecting other docks, and a Grade II-listed hydraulic tower.

Unlike most venues, which offer access from all sides, the site could only be approached from the east. This meant that fans had only one route by which to enter and exit the ground, necessitating a sophisticated crowd management strategy. A further safety concern arose from the fact that the location was exposed to strong winds from three directions. Apart from meeting Everton鈥檚 technical brief and overarching philosophy, our input supported the architectural intent of creating a striking building that appeared to have grown from the docks 鈥� more specifically, the structure was conceived to 鈥渟imultaneously look like it is from the future and yet has always been there.鈥�

Solution

Exhaustive surveying of the site provided 海角视频 with a complete picture of the ground conditions. Informed by this understanding, our approach to infilling the dock used layers of sand to safeguard the listed walls while maintaining water flow to feed the city鈥檚 canal system. The overall design allowed the dock to be refilled and returned to its original state should the need ever arise.

Now renovated, the hydraulic tower on site anchors one corner of the ground 鈥� at the edge of a large public plaza. This celebration of tradition was apposite, as generations of Everton fans, and even some former players, had strong ties to working in the city鈥檚 docks. Similarly, the historic boundary wall 鈥� which was subject to restrictions regarding breaches 鈥� became a feature for visitors to appreciate as they came and went. We modelled people flow to ensure movement throughout the area remained efficient, comfortable and secure.

Facing extremely stringent criteria for mitigating high wind speeds, 海角视频 used precise physical modelling and digital simulation to achieve compliance through a series of discrete mitigation elements in the landscape. The architectural concept, inspired by the surrounding maritime and warehouse buildings, used traditional materials in a contemporary way. The result was a brickwork plinth capped by an imposing roof made of steel and glass.

At the end of March 2021, the UK Government鈥檚 Secretary of State supported Liverpool City Council鈥檚 decision to grant planning permission for the new stadium. Everton Football Club took possession of the site in July 2021, with main contractor Laing O鈥橰ourke moving in shortly after.

Between 2017 and 2020, there were 25 meetings with Historic England and Liverpool City Council. These discussions informed a range of elements, such as the importance of maintaining a visual water connection alongside the stadium. As the stadium progressed, these consultation meetings were crucial to ensure all views were heard and incorporated into the design responses.

We developed proposals that maintained and represented the site鈥檚 heritage through minimal interventions and applied modern interpretations. With more than 900m of listed dock wall, site investigation and record keeping were critical to the heritage response. Historic drawings provided valuable insight into these structures, which had been hidden by layers of silt. We documented each 5m section of wall, above and below water. The entire site was surveyed using modern laser scanning techniques to allow for future measurement of features, even after the wall had been surrounded by infill material.

The listed dock walls were a defining heritage feature of the site, characterised by Jesse Hartley鈥檚 鈥渃yclopean鈥� construction technique. Repairs to the walls were specified to ensure their long-term protection, whether buried beneath the future stadium or exposed alongside the western channel. Ground probing was undertaken to define the hidden geometry of the wall, informing the careful placement of foundation piles to avoid contact. Avoiding damage to the wall was a driving factor in determining the stadium鈥檚 orientation.

The dock was around 10m deep and filled with 8m of water. At the bottom of the dock basin, up to 3m of soft silt had built up over the years. Typically, before infilling within a marine environment, the dock would be dredged to remove the soft silt. However, our team asked the question: 鈥榃ould it be possible to keep the soft silt in place and infill on top?鈥� Not only did this reduce the overall construction programme, but it also delivered a significant sustainability benefit. By not having to dispose of the silt, we reduced the total infill sand import volume by 75,000m鲁 鈥� enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The infill sand that was used was dredged from Liverpool Bay, about 25 miles north of the site.

The site was vulnerable to flooding from the River Mersey, and this risk is expected to increase due to climate change. The proposed flood management solutions raised the stadium above future flood levels, both within its footprint and across key access routes, while leaving the majority of the surrounding area at historic levels.

After working directly with the client during the briefing, strategy and design period, 海角视频 was novated to their design and build contractor, Laing O鈥橰ourke, which took responsibility for the vast majority of technology packages. Our advisory team was retained to support broader digital strategy and client-direct technology development.

Value

To devise solutions that met the stated principles of the project, we cultivated a thorough understanding of the club鈥檚 business objectives and cultural ideals. Everton aimed to create a landmark football stadium that welcomed supporters from all walks of life as a community to be entertained in comfort and safety. This was affirmed by well-received plans that balanced spectacular design with a sophisticated utilitarian sensibility.

Having forged productive professional bonds across the project, and working closely with Laing O鈥橰ourke, the architect, and the landscape designer, 海角视频鈥檚 multidisciplinary team helped deliver an exceptional stadium that worked for the fans, the club, and the city.

The agile stadium digital infrastructure and solutions were designed to adapt to various modes of operation and tailored experiences for all who visit. In realising their goal for 鈥渙ne of the most atmospheric venues in the world of football,鈥� Hill Dickinson Stadium became a place where supporters were at the heart of the stadium鈥檚 conception, while also being one of the most environmentally friendly football stadia ever built. Hill Dickinson Stadium enhanced its user experience 鈥� for fans, players, and staff members 鈥� increasing Everton FC’s opportunities for commercial growth, while remaining committed to putting community first.