The Alexander International Athletics Stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham is a world-class athletics venue designed to host national championships and international sporting events throughout the year. The development features state-of-the-art track and field facilities, including covered spectator seating, indoor training and performance suites, and commercial office spaces with dedicated service access and parking.

A defining feature of the stadium’s landscape design is the series of 8-metre-high grassed embankments that surround the athletics track, forming a striking oval amphitheatre. At the northern end of the stadium, this embankment also functions as an elevated access ramp, providing essential connectivity to service areas behind the spectator seating.

The key engineering and architectural challenge was to create a structural “hard stop” at the end of the embankment, rather than a traditional sloped finish. Designers Hydrock required a solution that would clearly define the stadium façade while seamlessly integrating with the surrounding earthworks. Additionally, the structure needed to support a bridge providing vehicular access to the upper levels of the stadium.

This created a complex requirement for a retaining wall system that could deliver structural stability, support load-bearing infrastructure, and maintain a high-quality aesthetic consistent with the stadium environment.