London 2012 Olympics Handball Arena Building, Image, Design, Architect, News

London 2012 Olympics Handball Arena

2012 Sports Architecture, England, UK design by Make Architects + PTW and Arup

20 Jul 2009

Handball Arena London – Olympic Park Venue

Design: Make Architects with PTW and Arup

The start of construction on the Handball Arena two months early marked the moment the ‘big build’ got underway on all new permanent venues for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

During the Games the distinctive copper-clad Handball Arena will host qualifying games for the Handball competition as well as Modern Pentathlon Fencing and Goalball during the Paralympic Games.

After the Games, the sustainable and distinctive Arena will become a multi-sports venue with retractable seating for around 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities catering for training and competition at all levels. It can cater for a wide-range of indoor sports including Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball, Boxing, Handball, Badminton, Judo, Netball, Futsal and Volleyball, boosting the legacy sporting facilities provided across the Olympic Park.

Construction is now underway on the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Village, IBC/MPC, Velodrome as well as roads, bridges and infrastructure right across the Olympic Park. The sailing facilities at Weymouth and Portland were completed last year and work recently started on the White Water Canoe Centre in Broxbourne.

London Olympics Handball Arena : main page with current images

Previously:

11 Feb 2009

London 2012 Handball Arena and legacy multi-sports venue gets planning go ahead

The London 2012 Handball Arena, that will become a new multi-sports facility in legacy, is on track for construction to start this summer following a meeting last night where the ODA Planning Committee resolved to approve the planning application.

image from Olympic Delivery Authority

The recommendation will now go to the Greater London Authority (GLA) for approval before permission for the applications is granted.

Before the planning application was submitted for the Handball Arena sports users, local people, faith groups, community groups and young people were all consulted on the detailed plans. Their comments were then taken on board when the planning application was made.

Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins said:

“This takes us a step closer towards a simple, sustainable and flexible Handball Arena that works for Games and legacy. Construction is on track to start this summer on the Arena which will provide a great experience for competitors and spectators during the Games and offer a new facility for local people to enjoy a range of sports in legacy.”

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said:

“This is another example of the Games acting as a catalyst for change. This facility will be a high-quality venue at Games-time but also provides a legacy for sport in London and the UK. The fact that Handball will have its own arena at Games-time will be a great boost to the sport in this country, and it will be a much used multi-purpose arena after the Games.”

The Handball Arena will be in the west of the Olympic Park, to the south of the Hockey Centre, within four minutes of the Olympic Village. It will have up to 7,000 seats during the Games, hosting the Handball preliminaries and quarter finals as well as the Modern Pentathlon discipline of Fencing. It will also be the Goalball venue during the Paralympic Games.

In legacy mode after the Games, the Arena will become a multi-sports venue with retractable seating for 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities to hold a range of training and competition events of all levels. It will cater for a wide-range of indoor sports including Basketball, Handball, Badminton, Netball and Volleyball boosting the sporting facilities provided across the Olympic Park.

The Handball Arena, designed by Make Architects with PTW and Arup, features external copper cladding to give it a distinctive appearance that will develop a rich natural colour as it ages. The concourse level features glazing which encircles the building, enabling visitors to the Olympic Park to view sport taking place inside, and illuminating the venue when lit at night. The venue also has a vibrant and multi-coloured interior, with retractable seating to create a flexible space and with 100 light pipes in the ceiling to allow natural light into the venue.

Jules Pipe, elected Mayor of Hackney, said:

“The new multi-sports venue is a major opportunity to develop a world class centre for Hackney residents which is accessible and suitable for a range of community sports as part of the legacy of the 2012 Games. Hackney already has high quality, award-winning sports and leisure centres, and the Council is continuing to invest in these to offer all our residents access to healthier lifestyles through sport and physical activity. We will continue working to ensure that, when London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games have gone, the multi-sports Arena will remain as a venue for local people and visitors.”

Previously:

London 2012 Olympics 5 Nov 2008 Media release

‘Simple, efficient & flexible’ design revealed for London 2012 Games and legacy venue

Designs were unveiled today for a “simple, efficient and flexible” London 2012 Handball Arena that will become a new multi-sports facility in legacy. The new designs were included in the planning application for the venue which was submitted today.

image from Olympic Delivery Authority

The Handball Arena will be in the west of the Olympic Park, to the south of the Hockey Centre, within four minutes of the Olympic Village. It will have up to 7,000 seats during the Games, hosting the Handball preliminaries and quarter finals as well as the Modern Pentathlon disciplines of Fencing and Shooting. It will also be the Goalball venue during the Paralympic Games.

In legacy mode after the Games, the Arena will become a multi-sports venue with retractable seating for 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities to hold a range of training and competition events of all levels. It will cater for a wide-range of indoor sports including basketball, handball, badminton, netball and volleyball, boosting the sporting facilities provided across the Olympic Park.

ODA Chairman John Armitt visited the Planning Decisions Team offices in Stratford this week to submit a planning application for the Handball Arena, which follows consultation with local residents.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: “This is a simple, sustainable and flexible design that works well for the Games and legacy. The colourful interior will help boost the Games time experience for athletes and spectators, and in legacy will become a modern, practical and attractive facility for local people of all abilities to enjoy a range of sports. The copper-cladding sets the venue in the surrounding parklands and will look even more striking as it changes over time.”

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: “This is another example of the Games acting as a catalyst for a state-of-the-art sporting facility which will be a high-quality venue at Games-time, whilst also providing a legacy for sport in London and the UK. The fact that Handball will have its own arena at Games-time will be a great boost to the sport in this country and it will be a multi-purpose arena after the Games.”

Jules Pipe, elected Mayor of Hackney, said: “The new multi-sports venue is a major opportunity to develop a world class facility for Hackney residents which is accessible and suitable for a range of community sports as part of the legacy of the 2012 Games. Hackney already has high quality, award-winning sports facilities, and the Council is continuing to invest in these to offer all our residents access to healthier lifestyles through sport and physical activity. When London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games have gone, the multi-sports Arena will remain as a venue for local people and visitors.”

Design features in the Handball Arena plans include:

– Over 3,000 square metres of external copper cladding, mostly recycled, that changes colour and character as it ages
– Over 700 square metres of glazing which encircles the building at concourse level opening up the venue to the Olympic Park and enabling visitors to watch sporting action
– striking multicoloured seating that retracts to enable flexible use of the field of play
– 100 light pipes in the ceiling that draw sunlight into the venue, reducing the demand for electric lights
– rainwater harvesting from the roof for toilet flushing, helping to reduce water use by 40%
– Range of materials selected for long-term durability and performance
– In legacy mode the venue will include a health and fitness club with changing facilities and a café for use by the local community
– In legacy mode, the venue offers a 2,743 square metre field of play hosting sports including: 5-a-side football; Netball; Basketball; Volleyball; Badminton; Table Tennis; Handball; and Futsal
– The venue could also host in legacy: Hockey; Martial arts; Kabaddi; Dodgeball; Wheelchair Basketball; Fencing; Sitting Volleyball; Goalball; Wheelchair Rugby

Ricky Burdett, ODA Principal Design Advisor, said: “The Handball Arena occupies an important urban lynchpin, acting as a bridge between the Olympic Park and the existing urban neighbourhoods to the west in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The design is a bold and refined architectural statement: a rectilinear volume raised on a platform that addresses the street and a large podium overlooking the park. At night the internal activities will be visible through the horizontal glazed slot that defines the edge of the building.”

London Olympic Buildings

image from Olympic Delivery Authority

London 2012 Olympics 30 Nov 2007 Media release

Design team appointed for London 2012 Games Handball Arena with multi-sports legacy

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced today that Make Architects with PTW and Ove Arup and Partners have been appointed to design the Handball Arena.

During the Games the Handball Arena will host Olympic Handball and Paralympic Goalball. In legacy the Arena will be transformed into a new venue with the flexible seating capacity and facilities necessary to hold a wide range of indoor sports training and local to international competitions.

ODA Board Member and Chairman of the evaluation team Sir Nicholas Serota said:

“We have selected the best candidate from a strong field with an ability to deliver an excellent venue design for Games-time and for Legacy use. Although a relatively new practice, Make has already established a strong reputation for designing high quality buildings at low cost.”

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said:

“We have appointed a team with the optimum mix of experience, capability and creativity to design a Handball Arena that enhances the experience for Handball and Goalball athletes during the London 2012 Games and leaves a lasting sporting and community legacy.

“We are a step closer to people being able to see the designs of all of the permanent venues that will host a fantastic festival of sport in London 2012 and provide new homes for elite and community sport in legacy. “

Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee Seb Coe said:

“This is another important piece of the jigsaw, as we continue to prepare for the magnificent summer of sport in 2012. The handball arena will also provide fantastic sporting facilities for the local community after 2012.”

An OJEU for the construction of the Handball Arena is expected to be issued in 2008.

London 2012 Games Handball Arena architects : Make

London Olympics 2012 Handball Arena shortlisted architects:
Bligh Voller Nield, Patel Taylor,
David Morley
DRMM
Grimshaw
make architects
Schmidt Hammer Lassen, Royal Haskoning
Sports Concepts, reid architecture

More London Olympics Handball Arena building news online soon

Olympic Handball Arena Architect PTW

Location: Stratford, East London, England, UK

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