A striking roof structure
The new Liverpool stadium has a cost-effective, supporter-friendly design which will result in a spectacular 61,000 seater stadium. Our early involvement is helping to inform the architect's designs, particularly for a striking roof structure with clear spans of up to 160m. The lightweight roof, rectangular in plan, is supported solely by four raked columns, one at each corner. At the away end of the pitch, these columns are of pre-cast concrete — effectively, concrete buttresses. At the home end, the columns are composed of curved, segmented steel tubes, bunched at ground and roof level, so that the widest part of each column is half way between top and bottom. This efficient design delivers maximum strength where it is required without necessitating the use of a monumental form.
Accommodating home fans
Between the two steel columns are the terraces for the club's home fans, a part of Anfield traditionally known as the 'Kop', or hill. A curved canopy is envisaged to magnify the sound of the Kop in full voice. The architect from Ryder HKS derived his inspiration for the Kop during a Liverpool FC game against Barcelona. He had pulled out an envelope containing his wage slip and drew a design with the Kop as a huge 'theatre' at one end of the ground.
