Emirates Stadium, London

Client: Emirates Stadium
Architect: HOK Sport
Fabricator: Amwell Systems
Type of works: design, manufacture and supply of Formica^® High Pressure Laminate, including Formica^® Compact.

The Emirates Stadium is a striking addition to London's civic architecture. With a capacity of 60,000, it is the new home of Arsenal FC. The Emirates Stadium is England’s third largest facility, and was designed by architects HOK Sport.

The materials chosen give a clear reading of the building's function, the aspirations of Arsenal FC and the supporters' passions. The toughened glass plank facade at podium level responds to the more robust environment of large crowds, and glazed and woven steel mesh screens overlap the exposed concrete of the vertical circulation cores. A metallic under-clad roof seemingly floats above the exposed concrete seating bowl.

Formica Limited was delighted to have supplied over 1,000 sheets of High Pressure Laminate (HPL) for the interior, including Formica^® Compact for the players’ changing rooms and general admission toilet facilities. Formica^® Compact is a versatile, high-performance grade of laminate that is hard wearing and easy to maintain. Unaffected by high levels of humidity and heat, Formica^® Compact is ideally suited to washrooms and sporting facilities.

The striking Spectrum Red Formica^® Compact echoes Arsenal’s distinctive team colour. Many of the back-of-house reception desks and print journalists’ and photographers’ bespoke workstations, along with press desks in the seating bowl, were also fabricated using HPL from Formica Limited bonded to an MDF substrate.

Charles Cooke at HOK Sport commented: “We chose Formica^® laminate because of its durability, appearance and fitness for purpose.”

The state-of-the-art stadium is an eye-catching oval structure and key design features include an undulating seating bowl and large external roof trusses. This landmark building has a striking appearance inside and out and has so far proved very popular with visitors. The stadium rises dramatically behind rows of Victorian terraced houses and reveals itself in an unexpected, unusual and impressive landscape.