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Zero to Hero competition: the games are afoot

This year's SterlingOSB Zero competition called on entrants to design a demountable sports venue for either Edinburgh or London

Festival Plaza, Expo ‘70, Osaka. Designed by Arata Isozaki, Kenzo Tange and Atsushi Ueda. Sculpture by Taro Okamoto.
Festival Plaza, Expo ‘70, Osaka. Designed by Arata Isozaki, Kenzo Tange and Atsushi Ueda. Sculpture by Taro Okamoto. Credit: Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Collections

The Olympics may have finished in Paris but in two years it will be the next Commonwealth Games and, with host cities looking to be sustainable in their design while still presenting a unique representation of the sports and their surroundings, the future architecture of venues is going to be an important aspect of any event. West Fraser’s design competition this year, Zero to Hero, picked up on these themes, challenging architects to create a temporary sporting arena. 

The brief called for the design of a demountable sports venue constructed from SterlingOSB Zero for either Edinburgh or London, with specific attention paid to how the proposal responded to its site. Sporting occasions are now both globally mediated affairs as well as serving live spectators. An intelligently selected location could serve to support both modes of enjoying the sports.

On the judging panel was Soaad Stott, principal and leader of EMEA events division at Populous. Stott was involved with the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium, worked on the 2021 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games and was a project architect and lead consultant for three of the venues for the 2015 European Games, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. During the judging, Stott brought valuable insight into the fundamentals of venue design, including sightlines, the containment of sound and atmosphere, and niche particularities around the requirements for individual sports, from table tennis and judo to shooting.

Such knowledge around a breadth of sports was also offered by Mark Osikoya, chief executive of Commonwealth Games England. Not only concerned with the organisation and celebration of sporting contests, Osikoya is driven by sport’s capacity to reach new communities and open up access and participation to all. He showed a keen interest in applicants’ thinking around urban space as a way of considering how a sport might be seen in new ways and trigger excitement.

Stephen Proctor co-founded Proctor & Matthews Architects in 1988 and brought those 36 years of architectural experience to the judging panel. He evaluated each project’s structural viability or usability with a critical eye but was also acutely aware of each scheme’s wider setting and how the proposed design held conversation with its context. 

The most basic requirement was that proposed venues should use West Fraser’s SterlingOSB Zero board as a significant constituent in their construction. West Fraser Europe marketing executive Claire Ironside kept a keen eye on this, and was most excited when she saw evidence of its being deployed in surprising, ingenious or novel ways.

The judges were on the look out for designs that worked to capture the energy of the crowd within the venue rather than let it dissipate out

Holding the panel to account and ensuring the judging was completed in a sensible (if not a record-breaking) time was RIBA Journal deputy editor Jan-Carlos Kucharek. He has overseen the West Fraser/RIBA Journal collaboration since it began and brought seasoned knowledge of how SterlingOSB Zero had been used in previous iterations.

The competition brief required the proposed venue to have a minimum capacity of 1,000 people but no upper limit. The proposals that garnered accolades were the ones that grasped the nettle of the brief and were more  adventurous in both scale and capacity.

During the judging, Stott and Osikoya also discussed how the spectator atmosphere in the pool, on the court or out on the field can create memorable sporting occasions and also push athletes to new levels of performance, so they were on the lookout for designs that worked to capture that energy within the venue rather than let it dissipate out.
Needless to say, proposals that portrayed a palpable sense of a crowd and the atmosphere so vital to the function of a successful sporting venue were preferred over ones that simply depicted empty stadiums. In so doing, they created a visual sense of the expectation of a thrilling final.

There was ongoing, engaged conversation from the judges around how applicants had considered the cities in their brief, especially when location was more than an aesthetic backdrop but a critical conceptual or architectural component of the proposal.
So, with no further ado, let the games begin …

Judges
Soaad Stott, principal and leader, EMEA events division, Populous
Claire Ironside, marketing executive, West Fraser Europe
Stephen Proctor, founding director, Proctor & Matthews Architects
Mark Osikoya, chief executive, Commonwealth Games England
Jan-Carlos Kucharek, deputy editor, RIBA Journal (chair)

From leftto right: Soaad Scott, Claire Ironside, Stephen Proctor, Mark Osikoya, Jan-Carlos Kucharek.
From leftto right: Soaad Scott, Claire Ironside, Stephen Proctor, Mark Osikoya, Jan-Carlos Kucharek.

 A remarkable diversity

This is the third year I’ve been involved with the RIBA Journal SterlingOSB Zero competition as a representative of West Fraser. Each year, we challenge participants to push the boundaries of design and innovation, and this year was no exception. The diversity of the entries this year was remarkable, with each design offering a unique take on the brief. Some focused on harmonising with the historic architecture of their host city while others leaned into modern, sustainable practices. It was fascinating to see how each entrant interpreted the challenge, reflecting their own vision and creativity.
At West Fraser, we are constantly striving to find out more about how we can assist architects in their work. Carbon neutrality by 2030 is a target in all sectors and we hope that our carbon-negative UK-manufactured panels can contribute to these efforts. 
Judging alongside people from such different areas of expertise made for really stimulating discussions on the merits of each entry. It gave me a better understanding of the challenges that architects may come across between their designs and real-world application. 
I’d like to thank all of the judges for their time and input and for their reserves of knowledge about the processes that go into building a structure. But mostly, I’d like to thank not just our winners but all the practices and individuals that offered both their time and imagination to enter this year’s competition.

Claire Ironside, marketing executive, West Fraser Europe

 

Zero for Hero was produced in association with West Fraser

 

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