Lower Sixth Design and Technology students recently visited two venues to conduct research into existing sports grounds for their stadium projects. Our students have been asked to design a prototype for a new sports pavilion on the school campus which can cater for a wide range of sporting needs. These visits were organised to help them draw inspiration for their own stadium projects as part of their A-level course.
Amex Football Stadium
First up was The Amex Stadium, home to Brighton & Hove Albion, where the students had a personal guided tour. The feature that was most appealing to the group was the design of the building in keeping with the local countryside – in this case, the rolling South Downs. This is also an essential element to consider at Hurst, due to a similar countryside location. Our students learnt how important it is to merge traditional and modern materials and to think about access, transport, parking, and the flow of visitors. They were able to utilise much of the information provided on the tour to help them begin planning their own projects.
Lord’s Cricket Ground
The second visit was to Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. On arrival, the students met with Robert Ebdon, one of the college governors, who is Lord’s Estates Manager. Robert talked about the process of designing and managing a big sports ground project. He also spoke about how he has managed the redevelopment of Lord’s over the years to bring it in line with modern needs and the increasing numbers of spectators. The group were given access to the costings and procurement process, which was extremely useful in establishing whether their own projects would meet the allocated budget of £5,000,000 set by Hurst’s Headmaster.
“ Our students had two brilliant days out at two excellent and iconic sporting venues. They are now all feeling very enthusiastic about incorporating some of these features into their own designs ” Kaeran MacDonald, Head of Design and Technology
Read more about Design and Technology at Hurst College
Find out about the Amex Stadium and Lord’s Cricket Ground