Germany are the new World Champions and we have four years to wait for the next competition, but for Russia the next host country, preparations are already underway. Six of the new stadiums that are being built for the next competition are currently being assessed.

The stadiums being built for the World Cup in 2018 are being designed to BREEAM standards, which are set to raise the bar of sustainable design and construction in Russia. The regulations concerning ‘green building’ are not that well developed and there are few incentives and initiatives at present for the implimentation of green technologies. However, that is set to change and these new construction projects will be amongst the first in the country to achieve international recognition for compliance with international standards. It is hoped that with the completion of these projects there will be an increase in the public awareness of green building as the venues will no doubt attract both national and world wide attention.

Sustainable features of the stadium designs include highly energy-efficient lighting and overall energy consumption of 40% less than a comparable baseline building, with savings achieved through reduced building fabric U-values, efficient heating with heat recovery, and efficient ventilation with CO2 sensors in premises when unpredictable occupancy patterns can occur.  

All project and construction checking that is to be completed will be published in a series of online articles and will be publically available through a knowledge sharing platform. I just hope that those workers and inspectors are kitted out to face the Russian weather at its worst and that they pack quilt lined coveralls at the very least to keep the cold at bay. I am looking forward to the results being published – watch this space for updates.