Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has released renderings of new green technology hub and a timber bridge, to join the all-timber stadium of Forest Green Rovers in the £100 million Eco Park project in Gloucestershire, England. The slatted-timber bridge will cross a motorway, linking the technology hub area and the stadium. All the buildings of the new project will be entirely built from timber and glass.
Courtesy of Ecotricity
The plans started with the announcement of the new stadium which is to be the world’s first timber football stadium, and now they have revealed their plans for a series of glass hubs, some of which are enveloped in timber stripes. These same timber stripes constitute the humpback bridge. “The Green Technology Hub proposals apply the latest sustainable design technologies with ecologically sound materials and construction methods to create an integrated community for world-leading research and development,” said Zaha Hadid Architects. “The bridge design creates one single, fluid form by fusing together individual timber elements. This important, unifying gesture builds connections for the community, conveying Eco Park as a facility for all.”
© Zaha Hadid Architects, render by VA
The Forest Green Rovers stadium was commissioned to ZHA through an international competition, and the stadium, along with the entire Eco Park development, is backed by the renewable energy company Electricity. “With Eco Park, we hope to push the boundaries of sustainable development, create 4,000 jobs in the green economy, a world-class football stadium and make more room for nature with a big biodiversity boost, as well as creating a new ‘gateway to Stroud’,” said Ecotricity founder Dale Vince. The development will be powered by sustainable energy resources in hoped of nullifying its carbon emission. The outline planning for the project is expected to start in summer 2017 after gaining permission.
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