Lord’s Cricket Ground Media Centre, London – Projects

Opened in 1814 Lord’s is a world famous Cricket Ground and often cited as ‘the home of cricket’. Based in St Johns Wood, London, the 28,000 capacity stadium has been attracting spectators to cricket matches throughout its 200 year history.

Part of the famous ground is the RIBA Stirling Prize winning Media Centre. Commissioned for the 1999 Cricket World Cup, the iconic centre has become synonymous with cricket. Originally built and fitted-out in two boatyards utilising boat-building technology the media centre was the first all-aluminium, semi-monocoque building in the world. An extraordinary engineering feat achieved through the precision of shipbuilders.

Working with David Miller Architects, Elliott Wood was appointed to refurbish Lord’s Media Centre and double the size of the camera gantry. A large, complex and high profile project, the internal refurbishments included doubling the area of the existing mezzanine floor plate, reworking internal layouts, updating the existing services and re-routing cables around the existing structure.

Designed to accommodate over 100 journalists, radio and television commentary boxes, and standing 15m above the ground the project came with challenges. Elliott Wood reverse engineered the existing structure to assess capacity for supporting additional floor areas and the new gantry, together with coordinating new and existing works. We created 3D models of the existing structure and used these to coordinate new service routes, and the new gantry with the existing structure.

The Media Centre refurbishment and expansion of the gantry will allow Lord’s to continue being a world class sporting facility and attraction, broadcasting cricket around the world from the Iconic Media centre.