The ATP World Tour Finals have been held at London’s O2 arena every year since 2009, but when venue operator AEG added an F&B unit in a space traditionally used for the annual tournament’s temporary infrastructure, a new plan was needed for this year’s event.

“We had to work around a reduced footprint,” said Adam Hogg, ATP’s event director.

The answer was, quite literally, to go outside the box. “The solution was to build a lot of the infrastructure outside.”

Together with AEG and long-term partner Arena Group, ATP decided on a three-storey, 13m high building with 4,400sq m of space.

The new I-Novation construction comprises two separate buildings. One houses a players’ lounge and restaurant, while the other incorporates a hospitality space.

According to Grahame Muir, CEO of Arena Group UK, this new construction could change the way temporary structures are deployed at major sporting events.

“We’ve designed and delivered something quite special,” Muir said.

“It fills a niche in the market, where clients require a tall structure, higher roof loadings and increased thermal and acoustic properties. It delivers a permanent feel and does not resemble a traditional frame structure.”