AWARD – Co-op Live Arena, Manchester

Combining cutting-edge technology and sustainability, structural steelwork has helped create the UK’s largest indoor venue that boasts a 23,500 capacity alongside 41 bars and restaurants.

FACT FILE
Architect: Populous
Structural engineer: Buro Happold
Steelwork contractor: Severfield
Main contractor: BAM Construction
Client: Oak View Group

Boasting the largest floor space of any indoor venue and a significantly lower ceiling, the arena’s tiered seating will bring fans closer to the artist. Unlike venues designed primarily for sporting tournaments or public exhibitions, Co-op Live is also said to be the first of its kind to be built around concert acoustics.

In accordance with the client’s brief, sustainability was at the heart of the project’s construction. The venue, which has been designed to support Manchester’s Zero Carbon 2038 commitments, includes numerous sustainability features to create an inclusive, low carbon and low waste structure.

The building is powered entirely by electricity with no reliance on fossil fuels, while renewable energy purchased from the National Grid will be supplemented by the large photovoltaic array mounted across 10,500m² of roof.

Commenting on the scheme, Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, says: “Obviously, we’ll have venues of all sizes, right from the smallest to this place, the largest in the country, one of the best and biggest in Europe. It’s going to put Manchester in a dominating position on the music map. People in this city region and beyond will come here for decades to come.”

The Co-op Live is a large steel-framed structure that is set out on a regular 8.5m column grid pattern. It comprises steel members supporting precast terrace units for the seating areas, below which, horizontal beams support a composite metal decked flooring to create the circulation and concession zones.

The arena has been designed with four interlinked quadrants, which are structurally-independent and separated by four movement joints. Stability for the steel-framed structure is provided by the arena’s seven precast concrete cores, which work in conjunction with some strategically-located internal bracings.

Having four separate zones presented the steel erection team with several challenging temporary condition scenarios that had to be incorporated into the design.

The complexities associated with supporting the large overhangs of the venue’s seating areas and the 100m clear span roof was made possible due to the selection of a steel-framed solution.

Around the bowl, the arena is predominantly three-tiered, with the middle tier containing hospitality boxes. The exception is the east stand, which for concerts accommodates the stage, but also has a single upper tier of seating. This gives the venue some flexibility, as the stage can be removed for events requiring the central standing area of the bowl, allowing the arena to have seating wrapped around each of the four sides.

According to the design team, the terrace design required complex raker and truss steelwork to be fabricated and then erected alongside conventional column and beam members.

Interfaces with the precast terrace units and walls were developed within the steel package, enabling these elements to be coordinated and connected to the steelwork.

The roof steelwork was installed once the main bowl superstructure had been completed. However, due to the site’s constraints, the roof steelwork was brought to site in small components and assembled into larger sections on the arena floor and erected from inside of the building’s footprint.

The size of these components was dictated by the size of crane that could be rigged safely within the bowl’s footprint, combined with the requirement for it to be subsequently de-rigged underneath the completed roof structure.

A series of 100m-long trusses, each capable of supporting approximately 30t of equipment, create the roof.

“As well as forming the roof, all of the trusses are also supporting walkways, rigging strong-points and a host of important equipment for the lighting and sound,” explains Buro Happold Partner Rob Amphlett. “The roof is a machine that enables the venue production and so it is the engine room of the arena.”

Because of the project’s short design programme, the design adopted a strategy of suspending most of the building services beneath the steel floor beams and composite decks. Meanwhile, the venue’s location close to a number of residential buildings, meant the roof cladding had several strict acoustic requirements.

An off-site solution was used, using a series of acoustic cassettes, that were slotted into the main roof steel structure. Once installed, metal decking and a concrete topping was added to the top of the acoustic liner to carry waterproofing and the photovoltaic units.

“Parametric design tools were used to optimise the roofs steel tonnage and ensure compatibility with the fabrication and erection programmes, by assessing the impacts of different truss depths and cladding option,” says Severfield Senior Project Manager Dominic Charlton.

A steel-framed podium wraps around the outside of the arena and will accommodate the entrance and exit routes to each stand. Beneath the podium, at ground floor level, there is service basement, which is accessed via double-height entrances beneath the east stand (behind the stage area).

“Our team has worked intensively across all elements of the building’s ambitious and sustainable design to ensure the arena succeeds in drawing visitors from far and wide and each one has an unforgettable, world-class entertainment experience,” says Populous Senior Principal and Project Architect Declan Sharkey.