AJ Olympic Buildings Library

London 2012 Games Architecture A guide to the Olympic buildings featured in the AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

 ..

MORLEY VON STERNBERG

T

he 2012 Olympics not only showcase British sport and the city of London, but also the quality of British architecture to the world. Commissioning some of the UK’s best architects has led to an extremely high standard of architecture across the Games, from the permanent venues and infrastructure works, to the temporary venues and pavilions.

Of the three principle venues, two – Hopkins’ Velodrome and Populous’ Olympic Stadium – have already appeared on the Stirling Prize shortlist; Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre, once the temporary wings are removed, is surely a strong contender for next year’s award. The strategy of utilising temporary structures has created two excellent reusable venues, the Basketball and Water Polo Arenas, which have pushed the boundaries of temporary building design. The Games also make excellent use of London’s existing venues, including Earls Court and Wembley Arena – both of which already have an Olympic history, after hosting events in the 1948 Games.

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk, a digital archive for AJ subscribers, showcases the best of British architecture and allows architects to examine 17 Olympic projects in detail by providing full sets of drawings, photographs and details for each. This supplement gives a taster of the AJBL’s London 2012 Games content. Tom Ravenscroft

..

Olympic Stadium Populous Athletics This purpose-built 80,000-seat stadium contains a permanent concrete bowl housing 25,000 seats with 55,000 demountable seats above. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

16

11

Photos

Drawings

2

0

Concept image

Details



HUFTON + CROW

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

Aquatics Centre Zaha Hadid Architects Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Designed with a flexible seating arrangement, the arena can accommodate 17,500 spectators during the Games with a reduced capacity of 2,000 in legacy mode.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

23

13

Photos

Drawings

6

2

Concept image

Details

..

HUFTON + CROW

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Charles Howard Crane Volleyball Built in 1937, the exhibition centre hosted boxing, gymnastics, weightlifting and wrestling events the last time London hosted the Games in 1948. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

15

6

Photos

Drawings

1

1

Concept image

Details



PHILIP VILE

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

Lee Valley White Water Centre FaulknerBrowns Canoe Slalom The venue for the white water canoeing events will become home to the British Canoe Union’s performance squad and a facility for use by the general public after the Games.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

11

9

Photos

Drawings

0

0

Concept image

Details

..

Primary Substation NORD Architecture Infrastructure This black-brick electricity substation houses three huge transformers and will provide power for the London 2012 Olympic Park, the Athletes’ Village and Stratford. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

9

4

Photos

Drawings

0

1

Concept image

Details



HUFTON + CROW

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

Coca-Cola Beatbox Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt Pavilion Located in the middle of the Olympic Park on the main promenade north of the Olympic Stadium, the pavilion is made up of more than 200 red and white inflated ETFE cushions.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

7

0

Photos

Drawings

1

0

Concept image

Details

..

HUFTON + CROW

RICHARD DAVIES, PETER COOK/VIEW, & DAVID MORLEY ARCHITECTS

Lord’s Cricket Ground Hopkins Architects, Future Systems, Grimshaw and David Morley Architects Archery The AJ Buildings Library contains four buildings at Lord’s: the Grand Stand, Mound Stand, Media Centre and Indoor School. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

41

30

Photos

Drawings

24

3

Concept image

Details



RICHARD DAVIES

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

London Velodrome Hopkins Architects Cycling One of four permanent venues on the Olympic Park site, the Stirling Prize-shortlisted venue contains 6,000 seats in both Olympic and Legacy modes.

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

12

11

Photos

Drawings

7

4

Concept image

Details

 ..

..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

RICHARD DAVIES

Wembley Arena Sir Owen Williams Badminton and Rhythmic Gymnastics Built to host swimming events for the 1934 Empire Games, the reinforced concrete building was once the largest pool in the world. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

7

4

Photos

Drawings

0

2

Concept image

Details



ODA

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

Water Polo Arena David Morley Architects Water Polo This demountable, temporary, 5,000-seat water polo venue, which was purpose-built for the Games, is constructed from a kit of parts that can be returned to the supplier.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

6

10

Photos

Drawings

0

0

Concept image

Details

..

ODA

ODA & THAMES WATER

Pudding Mill Pumping Station Lyall Bills & Young Infrastructure This primary foul pumping station connects the new sewer system built for the Olympic Park to the existing Northern Outfall Sewer. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

14

9

Photos

Drawings

12

0

Concept image

Details



MORLEY VON STERNBERG

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

Old Ford Water Recycling Plant Lyall Bills & Young Infrastructure This foul water recycling station will supply the toilets of the Media Centre, Handball Arena and Eton Manor and to irrigate green spaces in the Olympic Park.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

7

6

Photos

Drawings

1

0

Concept image

Details

..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

MORLEY VON STERNBERG

ODA

Basketball Arena Wilkinson Eyre Architects Basketball and Handball Constructed from re-usable components, the temporary arena is entirely clad with recycled white PVC membrane in a design inspired by the movement of basketballs. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

20

5

Photos

Drawings

6

0

Concept image

Details



SIMON KENNEDY

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

ArcelorMittal Orbit Anish Kapoor, Cecil Balmond and Ushida Findlay Architects Observation Tower This sculptural steel observation tower is situated next to the Stadium on the Olympic Park and will remain as a permanent visitor attraction after the Games.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

21

10

Photos

Drawings

7

4

Concept image

Details

..

EDMUND SUMNER

ExCeL Grimshaw Boxing, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Taekwondo, Judo and Table Tennis The largest competition venue of the London 2012 Games, this exhibition centre houses five different arenas, each of which will host a different sport. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

16

9

Photos

Drawings

0

2

Concept image

Details



NIGEL YOUNG

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk London 2012 Games Architecture

Wembley Stadium Foster + Partners and Populous Football This 90,000-capacity stadium, which features a retractable roof that can cover the entire seating bowl, will host the football Gold Medal matches.  ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

18

14

Photos

Drawings

4

0

Concept image

Details

..

MAKE & THOMAS GRAHAM

Copper Box Make Handball and Modern Pentathlon A simple structural box clad in copper, the building will be converted into a multi-sports community venue capable of seating up to 6,000 in Legacy mode. ..

AJBuildingsLibrary.co.uk

11

10

Photos

Drawings

1

0

Concept image

Details



17

 

+

1,200       

+

30,000

,     ..

=

A subscription to the AJ includes access to the AJ Buildings Library, an indispensible practical resource for any architect, providing images, drawings, working details and data for more than 1,000 exemplar projects from the past 100 years

£12   

Special offer £12 monthly direct debit www.subscription.co.uk/aj