Construction of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
2018
My childhood was spent growing up in Basingstoke, Hampshire but I was a Tottenham Hotspur fan from a very young age - thanks to my Dad. His family are from Tottenham (he was born in Edmonton) but moved to Basingstoke in the 1970s.
I remember being taken to my first game at the Club’s famous White Hart Lane (WHL) stadium. It was August, 1986. I was five years old. We played (and beat!) Newcastle United. I recall being overawed by the brick monolith that was the exterior to the East Stand, and amazed at the carpet-like pitch that revealed itself to me as we entered the stadium bowl.
And whilst, in the modern era, the Club was desperate for a bigger stadium, it definitely tugged on the heart strings to see WHL starting to be dismantled during the seasons before the full construction programme got underway. That being said, it was fitting to be sat with my Dad to watch us beat Manchester United in the final game at WHL. I still have the commemorative t-shirt!
Whilst the team relocated to Wembley Stadium for a couple of years, WHL was demolished and construction of the new home began. In 2018, with the site resembling a stadium more every week, the Club began releasing several images to show construction progress. I was always pleased to see them but I felt very early on that they didn’t do the Stadium justice in terms of the scale, attention to detail and the design features. So, living a 10-minute drive away, I set about spending the year documenting it myself.
This series is the result. Wherever possible I tried to include people and recognisable items to depict the scale. And then long lenses to illustrate some of the key design details and attention to detail.
