Read the latest blog, written by Paul Whitehead, about the construction of the new North Stand.
Over the last month the steel frame of the new North Stand has shot up and you can now see the size and shape of the impressive structure. The weekly time lapse video on the official site gives an opportunity to see how the stand develops from the ground up.
I’ve heard and been asked the questions, 'will it be the full length of the pitch' and 'how many bays are there'. Those that follow the accounts on twitter will know that there are 15 bays and as I write this blog bay 14 is well on the way, meaning that the Verlin stand end of the structure will be complete in the coming days.
With the stand now coming into view, some of the changes that have taken place will also become obvious over the coming weeks and months. The original artists impression that is regularly features on the official site and other media was put together for the consultations prior to the planning application. Whilst the stand has remained broadly the same there have been some significant changes.
For example you will notice that a staircase has been added to each end of the stand, meaning that the stand now runs the whole length of the pitch, from goal line to goal line and beyond. The addition of the staircases also meant that around a further 150 seats were added to each end of the stand taking the overall capacity from 2,300 to over 2,600.
A third lift has been installed into the scheme. The glazing on the second floor facing to the pitch has been reduced from full height to accommodate the use of that floor for offices as the gym has been relocated. There are a number of other changes that have been made that are less obvious but which will become evident in due course.
We are also trying to include some unique features. We already have the legend wall within the brickwork and we will be introducing a feature into the wall cladding as shown in the image above.
As the stand now takes shape discussions are ongoing with some of the occupiers of the building to establish their more detailed requirements. In some cases, there are interior designers already appointed and the finer details of items such as services and initial finishes are being progressed.
Once the steel frame and installation of staircases is complete we will be working on completing the concrete slabs to the ground, first and second floors as well as the plant deck on the roof. This will be followed by the ground floor brickwork (including the named bricks) and then the cladding and curtain walling (windows).