Brighton and Hove Albion’s new home has been shortlisted for yet another design award.
The American Express Community Stadium has been shortlisted for the prestigious Structural Awards 2012 as the latest accolade to be given to the club’s new home.
The £100 million stadium will go head-to-head with the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, which was built at almost five times the cost and with almost three times the capacity.
The Amex has been named alongside the Forsyth Barr Stadium in New Zealand, the Brockholes Visitor Centre in the Lake District and the Scunthorpe Sports Academy in the sports and leisure structures category.
Competition judges praised the stadium’s “curving form and unique steel arched roof mirroring the undulating landscape surrounding it”.
They also praised the work by engineers to meet the major structural challenges posed by setting the stadium in the grass and chalk surrounds of the South Downs.
The awards saw entries from nearly 100 projects submitted and close to 60 shortlisted in 11 categories showcasing work by structural engineers across the world.
Albion representatives will find out if they have won at a lavish awards ceremony at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London on November 2.
The stadium has already bagged a host of awards for its innovative design since it opened in July 2011.
It was named the best new sporting venue in the world at the stadium business awards, held in Italy in May, and overall winner in the prestigious ICE South Branch Engineering Excellence Awards in July.
Albion executive director Martin Perry said: “We are delighted be nominated for yet another award, and it is further recognition of the quality of the stadium’s planning, design and construction.”
Awards judge John Nolan said: “Using the elegant yet simple concept of arch trusses, a very long span but light roof structure covering the spectator areas of the football stadium has been produced. At 170 metres long and each weighing 35 tonnes, erection of the trusses, catering for the end thrusts, and engineering the whole construction sequence for the roof represented a major structural challenge.”
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