Keeping New Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre Comfortable, Cool and Safe

Poor air quality or inadequate heating and cooling can affect audience enjoyment and player performance at sports and entertainment venues.  To avoid this situation and ensure a high quality internal environment, the new Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre will have variable capacity ventilation, heating and cooling systems with ductwork installed by specialist Senior Hargreaves.  The work falls under a contract from Haden Young who have overall responsibility for the Centre’s electrical, mechanical and public health services installation and commissioning. The development is the cornerstone of the City of Culture celebrations in 2008 and will host concerts, sports events and meetings with widely varying attendance and environmental needs.   

Hargreaves has considerable experience with similar world-class venues.  The International Conference Centre and MEN Arena in Manchester, the International Conference Centre, Arena and Symphony Hall at Birmingham, Wimbledon Number One Court, Bolton’s Reebok Stadium and extensive works at Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium all feature Hargreaves systems.  

In keeping with the prestigious location, next to the Grade 1 listed Albert Dock and the Three Graces (a World Heritage site), the city of Liverpool sought an outstanding architectural design.  Award winning architects Wilkinson Eyre have created a complex that combines a 9,500 seat multi-purpose arena for concerts and sports with a 1,350 seat auditorium and an exhibition space of 7000 square metres.  The two wings of the development are linked by a central galleria that provides access to all major facilities, a variety of hospitality and catering services and a through pedestrian route to the riverside.   

Flexibility for different events and levels of occupancy is a key element in the design.  Engineers faced several challenges in meeting the exacting environmental standards and demands for flexibility.  Cooling, heating and comfort ventilation requirements will vary considerably according to occupation and season.   Kitchens and catering concessions posed potential fire hazards and so exhaust ventilation from these uses Hargreaves tested HFD fire resistant ductwork.  In the event of fire this will safely contain products of combustion to prevent fire spread, permitting safe discharge.  

Large plant rooms are commonplace in such heavily serviced buildings.  This has been overcome by distributing these facilities to four open roof decks on the flanks of the building that are screened from ground level.  

Logistics and access also tested Hargreaves ingenuity.  The programme schedule has required close coordination between the Bury factory, fitters on site and the transport team.  Equipment has been manufactured, delivered to site and installed within tight time frames.  The wide-span roof, up to 23 metres above the arena floor, meant using high-level scaffolding and mechanical access for both men and material.  Skilled fitting teams then had to optimise the pathway for the ductwork through the complex roof truss matrix.

Heating, cooling, ventilation, fire and other mechanical services design was by consultants Faber Maunsell and the principal contractor is Bovis Lend Lease.  Completion is expected in 2007 in readiness for the 2008 celebrations. 
  

More Information
Phil Johnson, Senior Hargreaves, Tel. 0161 764 5082 Fax. 0161 762 2336
E-mail: pr@senior-hargreaves.co.uk Web: www.hargreaves-ductwork.co.uk
Senior Hargreaves, Lord Street, Bury, Lancashire BL9 0RG, UK

High/low resolution images are on the web at www.ainsmag.co.uk/ha166/4152ha1a.htm

May 31, 2007