Zero to Hero longlisted entries

The Spike – Francesco Cuturi

Temporary international sporting venues offer the opportunity to present iconic architectural forms to mediated audiences – a strategy employed by Francesco Cuturi’s entry, which derives its name and form from the three phases of volleyball attack: approach, jump and spike.
Judge Soaad Stott appreciated this sculptural approach, especially for a sport such as beach volleyball, which ‘has potential to bring in energy’ – though she questioned whether the scale of the design would suit the ‘hot cake’ numbers of tickets the event sells.
‘It looks more like a training venue,’ said Mark Osikoya, and the judges agreed it would work better as a space for public sport participation alongside a larger venue. Claire Ironside felt it used timber well, though agreed on the need to scale up – an observation that would no doubt be appreciated by the West Fraser sales team!

 

The downhill Mile – Craig Higgins

Another project that sought to bring traditionally rural or nature-focused sports into a city-centre setting, Craig Higgins has designed a series of timber interventions to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, turning it from a site of tourism and history into one of ramps, jumps, ramped curves and grandstands.
Soaad Stott liked this aspect of the response to the brief and how it took sport into a new location. She appreciated the kit-of-parts approach of components that could be applied to various urban locations. 
The judges agreed that it responded to the ‘conceptual and playful’ part of the brief, but less well to the need to include the stands needed for the many spectators such a sporting interruption into the city would be expected to bring.

 

The Bykathon – Rob Pickering

‘It’s a bit Heath Robinson,’ proffered RIBAJ’s Jan-Carlos Kucharek, breaking the silence that had formed as judges worked out exactly what they were looking at. 
Very much from the Archigram-school of provocative architectural ideas, Rob Pickering’s Bykathon is a 5m-long ‘interactive, human-powered, tandem cycle unit’. Eight of these would be cycled by groups from across the country to the host venue whereupon they would be grouped together to form a 1,000-seat venue. The wheels and seating would be formed of West Fraser’s OSB Zero board. 
The scheme was admired more for its vision of material use than its practicality, with judge Soaad Stott appreciating the playful spectacle that would be conjured as the vehicles arrived together to create the auditorium.

 

Highland stadium – Alex Jones

The fact that Jones approached the brief by designing a landscape rather than a traditional architectural object was enjoyed by the judges. His concept is formed of four mounds of stepped blocks formed of SterlingOSB Zero. 
Spectators could sit on these blocks to face the central basketball or volleyball court, or the blocks could be used for more informal seating and congregating facing away from the venue. 
‘It’s a strong, simple idea,’ said judge Stephen Proctor, ‘and could work for multiple sports on the outside, not only focusing on the interior.’ 
All agreed it was a shame the design was so mannered when it could have been imagined more playfully and on a more grandiose scale. As with other applicants, they wondered whether Jones had perhaps vastly underestimated the number of people who would want to watch Commonwealth Games events! 

 

See more on Zero to Hero

Introduction
This year’s judging process

Winner
Sport Climbing at Grant’s Quay Wharf by Alcove Architecture

Commended
London Skeet by Vectorprojects Kenya
Sportholder No.1 by Kashdan-Brown Architects
Transformational Venue by woo architects