A Modern Reimagining of the Historic Everton Football Stadium

DESIGNING a stadium that replaces one as beloved as Goodison Park for Everton Football Club is no small feat.

But contractor Laing O’Rourke has risen to this challenge with an ambitious, modern construction for Everton Stadium. Located at Bramley-Moore Dock, the new stadium balances sustainable methods and designs with a respect for the heritage of Liverpool’s waterfront.

Subcontractors Lindner Prater, who were responsible for the cladding of the barrel-shaped roof, worked with specialist convertors Concept Conversions and Knauf Insulation to supply rock mineral wool for acoustic infill and coping insulation. Knauf Insulation also supplied its FactoryClad Roll 40 for the metal roof cladding.

Sustainability and Waste

Laing O’Rourke had several challenging requirements to meet for this project. As well as creating a building that preserved the historic Liverpool dock and satisfied fans, the contractor wanted to meet challenging sustainability targets. It committed to using 95% of all materials that were delivered to site in the construction of the stadium, leaving just a fractional amount of waste.

To keep waste to a minimum, the contractors used the Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) methodology to guide the project, and this informed Lindner Prater’s approach to the roof cladding.

This concept, of optimising the manufacturing and assembly process, was also applied to the acoustic insulation for the metal roof of the stadium.

Creating a Bespoke Product

At Lindner Prater’s request, Knauf Insulation worked with Concept Conversions to produce a custom rock mineral wool slab for the trapezoidal acoustic infills that minimised waste.

The coping insulation used the same slab and was factory-sized by Concept Conversions to fit multiple areas of the roof parapet, which also further reduced waste on site and made installation less laborious.

The acoustic infills were slotted into the profiled metal deck of the roof build-up, while the coping insulation was used across the building where needed.

The acoustic infills were cut to size from the donor slab and covered with a black glass-tissue facing to stop loose fibres falling and to provide a pleasing finish where the insulation could be seen through the perforated metal deck.

Acoustics and Non-Combustibility

Acoustic insulation was the primary reason for choosing FactoryClad Roll 40 (made of glass mineral wool) and using rock mineral wool for the infills and copings. Due to the open cell, fibrous structure of both glass and rock mineral wool, they trap large amounts of air and provide mass that works together to dampen sound waves and reverberation.

FactoryClad Roll 40 is also non-combustible with the best possible Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification, as well as a high tear strength.

Collaboration for Success

“A strong link from specification to distribution ensured we could supply the best product for the job while minimising waste. We have a long-standing partnership with Knauf Insulation because they are always ready to help us achieve the desired result as quickly as possible and using the best performing mineral wool products,” explained Marc Lawson, Managing Director of Concept Conversions.

“This was a truly collaborative effort, with all stakeholders in the supply chain working together with the distributor and the sub-contractor.”

The strength of this supply chain allowed Concept Conversions to deliver 74,000 units of acoustic infill and coping insulation to the stadium site on bespoke pallets that were 1.2 metres high to mitigate exposure on the waterfront during construction.

Regeneration

The stadium has already run several test events and is expected to begin operating at full capacity in time for the start of the 2025/26 season. Once complete, it could attract more than 1.4 million extra visitors to Liverpool each year and spark further regeneration projects along the Bramley-Moore docks area.

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