This article looks at the topic of environmental building, and specifically why sports stadiums around the world are a great benchmark in this respect.
Cultural Impact
Of course, it is important to note that sports stadiums are not the only environmental buildings being constructed around the world, however they make a great starting point. Let’s face it, if a major company moves into a new, environmentally friendly headquarters, yes it will make the news, but not as much as if one of the world’s most popular sports teams did so.
How do the features of sports stadiums built with the environment in mind translate to the wider world of sustainable construction?
Personal Experience
Say you are building a new football stadium for Manchester United. The first thing you want to do is make sure that the experience for the spectators is a mind-blowing one, and that they can all see the game that they have paid to watch. The office equivalent is creating a comfortable, productive environment where employees can go about their daily tasks easily and be happy where they are.
If the personal experience, whether you are a spectator, employee, or director of the board, is not up to speed, then there is little to no value in an environmental building. Thankfully, the very nature of sustainable design and construction means that this is almost always achieved.
Community Impacts
Whether it is a new sports stadium or the new headquarters of a global conglomerate, the impact on the wider community is extremely important in modern environmental building. Whether it is through the main building offering a place where local residents can visit and take part in community activities, or funding the regeneration of the local area and even building new schools or hospitals, environmental building, and importantly the people commissioning it, have a huge part to play.
Sustainable building would never work if it only benefited the people who work in the building on a day to day basis. Sports stadiums captured this very quickly, and the wider business world was very quick to follow.
Impacts and Examples
In many cases environmental design is the norm in the modern day. It is no longer a case of people asking designers for sustainable designs, as they are often the only method available. Building sustainably, as well as considering the impacts for the buildings’ residents and also the wider community, has helped to place many modern sports stadiums as a cultural hub of their town and city.
Hopefully in years to come this will be how all businesses and corporations view every new project they undertake across the world.
Vector Foiltec has developed the use of membrane structures in the design and construction industry.