London Olympics Buildings, News, Pictures, Designs, Architecture, Arenas, Image

London Olympics Architecture : Buildings Information + Images

2012 London Olympics photos : Key Olympic Buildings, England

12 Oct 2011 2012 London Olympics - Latest Building Royal Artillery Barracks Shooting Venue, UK image from ODA London Olympics Shooting Venue 27 Jul 2011 2012 London Olympics Buildings Aquatics Centre unveiled as main Olympic Park venues completed on time and budget With exactly a year to go until the start of the London 2012 Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced that the Aquatics Centre is now complete, the last of the six main permanent Olympic Park venues to finish construction. The Olympic Stadium, Velodrome, Handball Arena, Basketball Arena and the International Broadcast Centre were all completed earlier this year. New aerial images of the Olympic Park and venues now online at e-architect. The Aquatics Centre is being unveiled today (Wednesday 27th July) with British Olympic hopeful Tom Daley making the first dive into the pool this evening. [New images of the completed Aquatics Centre and activity taking place inside the venue will be available from around 2pm on Wednesday 27th July, on this page]. Latest aerial photos from the London Olympics site: Olympic Aquatics Centre Zaha Hadid Architects photo from Olympic Delivery Authority London Olympics Aquatics Centre Olympic Park Masterplan Allies & Morrison + HOK Sport Aerial view of Olympic Park : photo from Olympic Delivery Authority Olympic Stadium Architects: Populous – Peter Cook London Olympic Stadium : photo from Olympic Delivery Authority London Olympic Stadium Olympic Village various architects image from ODA London 2012 Olympics Village Chobham Academy Allford Hall Monaghan Morris photo from ODA Chobham Academy Back in July 2006, the ODA set out a challenging brief to clean and clear the Olympic Park site and build the new venues and infrastructure needed in time for test events by the summer of 2011 - a year before the Games. This has now been achieved on time, to budget, with a safety record far better than the industry average, and by setting new standards in sustainability and accessible design. Double Commonwealth Gold medallist and 2012 hopeful Tom Daley said: "Marking the 1 year to go, by diving in the Aquatics Centre is an incredible honour. Only a few years ago, this was a distant dream. The fact that I qualified at the weekend and am taking the first dive is a complete privilege. I can't wait for next year and the honour of representing Team GB." ODA Chairman John Armitt said: "The Aquatics Centre will be a fantastic gateway to the Games in 2012 and a much-needed new community and elite sporting venue for the capital afterwards. Five years ago, in July 2006, we published a delivery timetable which set out the ambitious target to complete the main venues a year before the Games. Today, with the completion of the sixth main permanent venue, I am proud to say that we have delivered on that commitment. “The completion of the Aquatics Centre is the latest chapter in a British success story where tens of thousands of workers and business from across the UK have demonstrated the ability of this country to successfully deliver major projects.” LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe said: “With construction now complete on the Aquatics Centre, we are another step closer to the spectacular Olympic Park which will be host to world class sport in 2012. And after the Games, the venue will become a much-needed swimming facility for London with community use at its heart, epitomising the spirit of London’s bid – a Games which would bring lasting change and encourage people to choose sport. Everyone involved can be very proud of this venue and the progress of the Olympic Park as a whole. I congratulate the ODA and their teams who have done a fantastic job.” Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt said: “The build project for London 2012 has been a huge success for the British construction industry, public sector and UK plc as a whole. The completion of the Aquatics Centre is the final permanent world-class sport venue to be finished on the Park and a proud moment for the ODA. All those that have worked on the Olympic Park deserve huge credit for what they have achieved. The venues are stunning and the stage is now set for us to put on the greatest sporting show on earth.” Latest aerial photos from the London Olympics site: image from ODA The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "It's fantastic to add the beautiful Aquatics Centre to London's list of first class venues which are already set to welcome the world's greatest sportsmen and women. To have all six permanent venues complete with a year still to go to the Games is a great achievement, and a firm sign that we are well on track to deliver a truly spectacular show in 2012. Congratulations to the ODA and all those who have worked on the construction of the Olympic Park for reaching this milestone." Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, said: “The Aquatics Centre will be a unique facility in London that puts sport at the heart of regeneration. As a focal point for community, national and international swimming, it will sit at the centre of the south plaza - London’s newest public space which will welcome visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park after the Games.” Construction started on the Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre just over three years ago in June 2008 and has been completed on time and with an exemplary safety record. Over 3630 people have worked on the construction of the venue and over 370 UK businesses have won contracts including the steel for the roof from Wales, pool lights from Scotland, pumps from Bedfordshire, under-floor heating by a company from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and water testing done by a Flintshire-based business. In total, over 40,000 people have worked on the Park since April 2008 and over 1500 direct contracts worth £6bn have been distributed to thousands of companies across the UK. The Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre is located in the south of the Olympic Park and will be the main ‘Gateway into the Games'. ArcelorMittal Orbit - designed by Anish Kapoor with Cecil Balmond/Arup image from ODA 17 Nov 2010 London Olympics Buildings The new images are released on the day the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Co-ordination Commission for London arrive for one of their regular inspection visits. The ODA recently announced that the construction project is now 75 per cent complete and the main venues on track to be completed next summer – a year before the Games. Latest aerial photos from the London Olympics site: Olympic Park Masterplan Allies & Morrison + HOK Sport Aerial view of Olympic Park : photo from Olympic Delivery Authority Olympic Stadium Architects: Populous – Peter Cook London Olympic Stadium : photo from Olympic Delivery Authority Olympic Aquatics Centre Zaha Hadid Architects photo from Olympic Delivery Authority Olympic Velodrome Hopkins Architects photo from Olympic Delivery Authority London Olympics Velodrome Olympic Basketball Arena Building Wilkinson Eyre & KSS Design Group photo from Olympic Delivery Authority Basketball Arena Olympic Handball Arena Make Architects with PTW and Ove Arup and Partner photo from ODA London 2012 Games Handball Arena Olympic Village various architects image from ODA Chobham Academy Allford Hall Monaghan Morris photo from ODA Previously: 30 Jun 2009 London 2012 Olympics Buildings Leading architects praise London 2012 designs Leading figures from the world of architecture have praised the designs and progress of the Olympic Park's venues following a tour of the site. Along with the architects who have worked on the individual venues and projects, experts and representatives from the world of design and architecture including CABE and RIBA, were invited to see the progress being made on the site. A new publication bringing together all of the designs of the main venues, infrastructure and parklands has also been produced and can be downloaded from the London 2012 website. Lord Richard Rogers said: "The new Olympic Park will be a fantastic place and will help to regenerate east London. The designs show exciting sculptural form and will enhance the landscape." Joanna Averley, deputy chief executive of CABE said: "Seeing the project at this stage is an amazing celebration of British engineering, as well as British architecture, particularly the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Velodrome, which will provide a lasting legacy for London." Paul Davis, architect and RIBA representative said: "I'm most impressed by the Olympic Stadium. Not just because it is impressive but because it's actually so simple. For me that is what some of the best architecture is about." The bus tour stopped at venues including the Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre and the Populous designed Olympic Stadium and gave the designers an opportunity to discuss the design concepts of the buildings that are now coming out of the ground. Nicolas Serota, ODA Board member said: "Now that the project is in the 'big build' stage, architects can actually see the designs that they have previously only seen on paper rising out of the ground before them. The visit gave people a real sense of the progress that has been made over the last year. "This is a really valuable forum for us as it encourages an exchange of ideas which can be taken through to the next stage of design." Comments re the London Olympics Architecture page welcome: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Not everyone agrees, indeed the quality of some buildings is poor in my view, notably the media centre - more on this once they are completed. Adrian Welch, editor 18 Nov 2010 Olympic Park - View from Leabank Square We wonder if the Olympic Inspection Committee ever consider the impact of poor architecture on local residents? ‘We’ being the residents of Hackney Wick – and the ‘poor architecture’ being the horribly boring and kit-box forms of the Olympics Media Centre directly opposite us (see photos of IBC/MPC building below). London 2012 Media Centre Olympics Media Centre : photo from Olympic Delivery Authority It seems to us that the ODA have dumped the worst of the buildings in the poorest corner of the Olympic Park – choosing instead to pay the most talented architects to concentrate on the high footfall entrance projects – stadium, stunning aquatic centre & even sexier velodrome. What they forget is that we need to live with these monstrosities for the next 50 years as well. They are so ‘in your face’ that even clever tree landscaping would never hide their ugliness. But – even more seriously – they do not encourage any future tenants to base themselves in Hackney Wick – which is what we really need as a legacy. Hackney has one of the highest unemployment rates in the UK – and we were hoping for a Google, Microsoft, BBC, MTV kind of creative industry company to bring high employment opportunities to our neighbourhood. A visiting scout from any of these companies would take one look at these soulless buildings, and head for more pleasant working environs. None of us are architects, or even qualified to comment on its merit – we simply object to having the worst kind of blandness dumped cliff-like in front of us – where once was Arena Fields – a green, calm, lush, orchard filled park. As you can see from our blog archives – we have objected to the style of these buildings for a few years now – but as the ODA only have to pass any planning applications past the ODA (themselves) – no objections are ever treated seriously. Sóna Abantu-Choudhury London Olympics Buildings Opinion - external link London Olympics Buildings Buildings / Projects for Olympic Delivery Authority - ODA Olympic Park Masterplan Allies & Morrison + HOK Sport Aerial view of Olympic Park: image from Olympic Delivery Authority Olympic Stadium Architects: HOK Sport – Peter Cook image from Olympic Delivery Authority Athletes’ Village various architects 2012 London Olympics – VeloPark, Stratford Hopkins Architects image from Olympic Delivery Authority Aquatics Centre Zaha Hadid Architects image from Olympic Delivery Authority Basketball Arena Building Wilkinson Eyre & KSS Design Group image from Olympic Delivery Authority Handball Arena Make Architects with PTW and Ove Arup and Partner image from ODA Lee Valley White Water Centre FaulknerBrowns, architects photo from the ODA Lee Valley White Water Centre London Olympics 2012 - off-site venues various architects image from Olympic Delivery Authority London Olympics 2012 Water Polo Arena David Morley Architects London 2012 Water Polo arena London 2012 Olympic Games Media Centre Allies & Morrison image from ODA Olympics Bridges heneghan.peng heneghan.peng.architects/©Archimation London 2012 Olympics Bridges London Olympics 2012 Rowing - Eton Dorney London Olympics 2012 Rowing Venue London 2012 Greenway Adams and Sutherland More London Olympics building news online soon London Architect

Commonwealth Games Stadium

London Buildings

London Olympics 2012 Park - Legacy:

Olympics Park images from Olympic Delivery Authority

London Olympics Substation

Olympics Substation image from Olympic Delivery Authority

London Olympics Pumping Station
John Lyall Architects

Olympics pumping station photo from Olympic Delivery Authority

Olympic Park Energy Centre
John McAslan & Partners

Olympics energy centre image from Olympic Delivery Authority

London 2012 Olympics Park

Athletes village : 2014 Commonwealth Games

London Olympics Velopark : Hopkins Architects

London Olympics site : Lower Lee valley

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London Olympics Buildings - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt