FORWARD ASSOCIATES / F3
RELATIONSHIP
BUILDING
The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium project has
introduced a game-changing approach to not only
delivering new kinds of fan-orientated spaces, but
also a radical collaborative working environment
“Rather than different teams working alone
everyone came together to design spaces with the user
experience in mind. This meant commerciallysuccessful
spaces that considered the guest journey,
human psychology and fan behavior in their
development,” he adds.
Roy Westwood agrees with Laurence and reinforces
the importance of focussing on fan spaces.
“By giving the guest what they want, when and
where they want it, they stay longer and spend more.
These are not just spaces that look good, but ones that
improve the fan experience to generate better
commercial returns,” Westwood says.
The seeds of this partnership were planted in 2015
when Westwood helped shape the vision for the food
and drink experience in association with Levy
Restaurants. Levy Restaurants were subsequently
awarded the catering contract and Forward Associates
were chosen to act as brand guardians overseeing the
implementation of the vision.
At the same time, F3 was commissioned to design
the premium interiors, retail store, museum and a new
standalone ticket office. This included front-of-house
hospitality areas, elite sports facilities, including NFL
and media areas – in total over 409,000ft2 (38,000m2)
of floor area.
“We were lucky to be involved from the very start
of the project,” explains Westwood. “Often the guest
experience is only truly considered once the space has
been designed, but Andy O’Sullivan and Ray Watson
at Tottenham Hotspur took a much more immersive
approach. One of the hallmarks of our work is an egofree
approach to projects and in finding the same ideals
within F3, we knew we had the opportunity to create
something very special.”
On another level
Working with Tottenham Hotspur and Levy
Restaurants, the two companies constructed a tiering
hierarchy to ensure every demographic has their
preferred experience in the right volume and location.
enue strategists Forward Associates first
worked with architecture and design
experts F3, at the new Tottenham Hotspur
Stadium. As Matt Rickard, creative director
at Forward Associates explains, it was a
collaboration that showed the value of teamwork.
“Having worked at some of the world’s greatest
stadia and arenas, we see a lot of architectural
photography. One thing that strikes us is that very few
of them ever show people. This is perhaps symptomatic
of a lack of interest on the part of some architects and
their clients for the lived experience of those who will
one day interact with their buildings,” Rickard says.
The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium took a very
different approach. From the beginning, the soccer
club, along with the stadium architects Populous, the
premium interiors team F3 and Forward Associates
sought to understand how the spaces would work from
the user’s perspective. The result is a ground-breaking
venue that has set a new standard for professional
sports stadia, and fan experience.
For example, with one vast, single-tier kop able to
generate a wall of sound, the vision was to create the
most atmospheric place in the world to watch soccer.
“Wherever we work, whether on the high street or
in a major sporting monument, we champion the role
of the inhabitant. We create spaces from the inside out
rather than the other way around,” says Roy Westwood,
managing director at Forward Associates.
Fan first
This desire to place the fans central to the experience
was music to the ears of Forward Associates and F3,
which share a common philosophy. Both companies
are founded on placing the guest experience at the
heart of their business.
“At F3, we are specialists in designing spaces that
add value to peoples’ lives. As a result, the new
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is testament to the power
of working together,” explains Ian Laurence, associate
director at F3.
Forward Associates and F3
collaborated to redefine the
stadium guest experience
DESIGN
108 www.stadia-magazine.com Showcase 2020
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