Sitting comfortably

There’s no denying that cricket is a game of tactics and skill as much as physical exertion. And a major part of that skill is the ability to read the climatic conditions before and during a match. Is the forecast for sun or cloud? What is the level of humidity in the air? Which way will the wind blow? All of these phenomena affect the flight of the ball and so the outcome of the match; and all are on the captain’s mind when he chooses whether to bat or field first.

Similarly, the weather played a pivotal role in the design of the new stands at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgeport, Barbados, the venue of the 2007 cricket World Cup final. A redevelopment of Barbados’ historic cricket ground, architect Arup Associates’ design replaced a hotchpotch of ramshackle stands with new versions including the new Worrell Weekes Walcott Stand, or 3Ws for short.

This, the largest and most prestigious stand at the ground, holds up to 4,000 people: and houses the presidential box, members’ seating and corporate boxes, as well as a restaurant and bar and offices. Its dramatic, curvaceous design is almost entirely informed by the climatic conditions to provide the best possible environment for watching cricket

Three main environmental factors influenced the project: ventilation, light and rain protection. In the warm, wet Caribbean climate, a shower means a short but torrential downpour, while the humid conditions can turn even the sedentary practice of spectating into a sticky situation.

Air flow

Initially, the design was influenced by the need to promote air movement within the stand. Arup plotted the direction of the prevailing wind in relation to the stand, ensuring that it blew into and through it. “The wind blows across the stand at an angle, providing optimum air movement,” says project architect David Parsons. “Whereas the old stand had pockets of dead air, the new one is ventilated to actively promote the flow of air in all areas.”

Behind the main terrace of seating, the restaurant and bar has both an open front, looking onto the pitch, and an open rear. Large metre-wide louvres allow air to blow straight through the stand, naturally ventilating it. This is repeated in the grand two-storey presidential box. The smaller corporate boxes don’t have this luxury. However, the glazed front facades can be opened to encourage air flow, which is allowed to escape through high-level open vents at the rear.

There is also mechanical ventilation in the boxes, as well as in the kitchen and toilets. However, instead of using multiple split systems, the M&E designers opted to supply the chilled water system from a central source. “This came about because the stand was originally meant to be built in conjunction with a museum building with more offices behind it,” says Alan Ross, Arup Associates’ mechanical engineer. “The stand would not be in use when the museum was, and vice versa, so you can save costs with economies of scale.” The other buildings will eventually be built, fully activating this and other energy-saving measures. “We also considered the acoustic implications when designing the mechanical ventilation,” says Ross. “Split systems tend to become noisier as they get older and the last thing you want when watching the cricket is an overbearing hum from the air conditioning.”

Even in the open-terraced area of the stand the heat can become oppressive; so, to ensure maximum air flow, vents have been installed in vertical, north-facing elements of the saw-tooth-design roof. Breezes blow across the rows of spectators, upwards into the stand and out through the vents via perforated sections in the tensile PVC ceiling fabric.

Rain off

As with the mechanical ventilation, rainwater dispersal and collection was also designed taking the future buildings into consideration. The stand’s vast cantilevered canopy has a gutter system built into its front edge. And the side bulges feature a hidden gutter halfway down their curves. Both channel water through down-pipes hidden in the structure to a central storage tank, where water from all buildings will be collected, filtered and reused to flush the toilets. The canopy’s steel structure cantilevers out up to 20 m at the outer edges of the stand and 16 m at its centre, as it follows the line of the seating. However, shading spectators from the sun causes problems in itself. The contrast in light levels from the shaded rear of the stand to the brightness of the pitch could make watching an entire match uncomfortable on the eyes. Arup countered this by designing a canopy roof through which light can pass.

The external covering of the canopy is an opaque profiled polycarbonate sheet, and the tensile PVC underside allows diffused light to percolate through. Parsons says: “It has a Japanese lantern look to it; you can just see the lines of the steel trusses through it and there’s a lovely glow to the whole ceiling.

“However, what it also does is considerably lessen the contrast between light levels inside the stand and out, making it a far better environment to watch cricket from.”

The 3Ws stand takes full advantage of natural light and ventilation, while making the most efficient use of mechanical systems where necessary. There can be no doubt that this lower-energy build will provide a very agreeable spectating environment and give everyone the chance to be able to sit in the best seats in the house. Whether the Sri Lankan supporters will agree is another story.