London Olympics Stadium Building, News, Construction, Image, Architect
London Olympic Stadium Construction
2012 Building: Sports Architecture in England, UK
24 Jan 2011
London Olympic Stadium Future – West Ham or Spurs?
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe slams Tottenham Hotspur’s Olympic Stadium plans
Address: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 2ST
Phone: 0800 072 2110
Capacity: 80,000
Opened: 2011
Two major London football clubs are bidding to re-use the Olympics Stadium, which is designed for athletics, not football.
London Olympic Stadium image from the ODA
Spurs are battling West Ham for the right to take control of the stadium and if successful, plan to knock the stadium down and replace it with one that they say is more suitable for hosting football. They do, however, state that they would redevelop the current athletics facilities at Crystal Palace, in south London.
Chairman of the 2012 London Olympics Lord Coe has slammed Tottenham’s plans to occupy the Olympic Stadium in east London following the Games.
London Olympics Stadium Building – more background / archive information
21 Dec 2010
London Olympic Stadium Building
2012 OLYMPIC STADIUM LIGHTS DESIGNED TO POSITION THE STADIUM AND LONDON AS A BEACON FOR THE EVENT
London – 21 December 2010
Last night the lights were switched on for the first time to illuminate the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, designed by global architecture and design practice Populous. The Prime Minister, David Cameron attended an exclusive ceremony within the Stadium to officially turn the lights on.
Olympic building images © Populous
Rod Sheard, Senior Principal of Populous said: “Light has proved to be one of man’s greatest achievements, today light is filling our Olympic Stadium and it signals the beginning of the end of the 2012 Olympic Games construction phase – Populous is proud to have played a part in bringing light to a part of London that was in darkness. In designing the stadium we knew that lighting would need to be one of the most important factors, both to illuminate the athletes and to ensure the stadium became the beacon of the event and of London at nightfall. We are thrilled to have reached this milestone for the project.”
Olympic building images from ODA
The symbolism of the date chosen for the ‘Lights on’ was no coincidence, 20th December (20.12), and this key landmark in the construction process demonstrates how the games are becoming a physical reality for London in the build up to London 2012.
images from ODA
London 2012 Olympic Stadium lighting images / information from Populous
17 Nov 2010
London Olympics Stadium Building
Latest photos from the London Olympics site:
photos from Olympic Delivery Authority
Designer: Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
London Olympic Stadium : Building Progress News
15 Dec 2009
Olympic Stadium raises the roof
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has today announced that the cable net roof of the Olympic Stadium has been lifted into place, ensuring that the Stadium project remains on target for completion by the summer of 2011.
The cable net is formed between the outer white steel roof truss and an inner tension ring 30m above the field of play. Over 900 tonnes of scaffolding and over a kilometre of support platforms were used to assembled over 12,000m of cables and the walkways. It took four weeks and 56 hydraulic jacks to lift the 450 tonne structure into place.
London Olympic Stadium images from the ODA
The Olympic Stadium cable net roof will be covered with material next Spring providing the correct conditions for athletes on the field of play and covering two-thirds of spectators.
ODA Chairman John Armitt said: “The successful lift of the Stadium’s cable roof is another milestone reached on the construction of this flagship venue. It has been a complex engineering and construction challenge, complicated by the wind and rain in recent weeks. We remain firmly on track and will lift the lighting towers into place early next year, taking the Olympic Stadium to its full height.
“We continue to make good progress across the project though there are still challenges ahead. The next year will be our toughest as the number of workers increases and activity on the Olympic Park reaches its peak so we cannot afford any complacency.”
Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: “This is another important milestone for the Olympic Stadium, which will be the centrepiece of the Games in 2012. It is exciting to see so much progress being made on the Stadium and on all of the Olympic Park which is becoming reality, with a landscape that will transform East London at Games time and beyond.”
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: “Raising the roof is yet another important milestone on the road to the Games. Iconic venues such as the Stadium and the Aquatics Centre will come to symbolise London in 2012 and, thanks to the rapid progress of the build, they are already having a real impact on the London skyline.
“The fact that we keep hitting our key milestones on or ahead of schedule means that we are now looking ahead to what is perhaps the most intensive and challenging period of the build with excitement and confidence.”
images from Olympic Delivery Authority
Construction on the London Olympic Stadium started in May 2008 and progress to date has included:
– Over 4,500 reinforced concrete columns installed as the foundations
– 28 steel sections of the roof compression truss lifted into place – each weigh 85 tonnes and are 15m high by 30m long
– 112 steel rakers fixed to act as the terracing supports to hold the 55,000 seats in the upper tiers
– 12,000 pre-cast concrete terracing units for the seating installed
– All five bridges and their abutments in place, connecting the Stadium island to the rest of the Park
– the fit-out of the 700 rooms and spaces within the London Olympic Stadium, including changing rooms and toilets is progressing.
Next year, a 650 tonne crane will be assembled in the middle of the Olympic Stadium site to lift the 28m high lighting gantries on to inner ring of the cable net roof, taking them 60m above the field of play.
16 Jul 2009
Olympic Stadium Building : Latest Images
Arena External Structure Complete
The construction of the Olympic Stadium external structure has been completed today as the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) published its Annual Report.
images from Olympic Delivery Authority
The Olympic Stadium roof structure, which will support the fabric roof, and the black steel rakers, which act as the terracing supports for the upper tier 55,000 seats, have today been completed to form the outer shell of the London Olympic Stadium, just fourteen months after construction started on the flagship venue.
ODA Chairman John Armitt said:
“The Olympic Stadium has already changed the east London skyline and is a visible symbol of the strong progress that has been made on the Olympic Park over the last year. With almost three years to go before the start of the London 2012 Games, we are in a strong position and everyone on the project is committed to making the next year as successful as the last.
18 Mar 2009
Latest images released of Olympic Stadium Building
images from Olympic Delivery Authority
London Olympic Stadium Building : Construction Progress
27 Nov 2008
Aerial pictures show London 2012 site is changing capital’s skyline
New aerial pictures released today by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) shows the rapid progress that has already been made to transform the Olympic Park and change east London’s skyline.
The ‘before and after’ pictures, taken over a year apart, show comparative aerial views of the main Olympic Park venues.
images from Olympic Delivery Authority
“These images clearly show the solid progress that has already been made on the ground. With old buildings and overhead pylons coming down, and new venues and infrastructure going up, the skyline of east London is starting to change. 75 pence of every pound we are spending is a long-term investment in the area. The work we are doing will leave a lasting legacy of world class sports venues, new roads, bridges and energy networks, thousands of new homes and a brand new urban park.”
images from Olympic Delivery Authority
The latest set of aerial shots, taken earlier this month, also show:
– the shape of London Olympic Stadium bowl and steel seating frame
– the footprint of the London Olympic Velodrome
– the southern roof support for the Aquatic Centre
– piling cranes laying the foundations for the Olympic Village
– a cleared site for the IBC/MPC
– several buildings already being built at the Stratford City site
An additional webcam has been launched on the Aquatic Centre site, taking the total to seven cameras installed across the Olympic Park showing updated images throughout the day on the London 2012 website.
London 2012 Olympics Athletes’ Stadium – images, 7 Nov 2007
images from Olympic Delivery Authority
More London Olympics Stadium building news online soon
Olympic Stadium
Architects: Populous
photo from Olympic Delivery Authority
London Olympic Stadium
London Olympic Stadium architect : Populous
Location: Stratford, London, England, UK
London Buildings
Contemporary London Architecture
London Architecture Designs – chronological list
Architecture Tours in London by e-architect
London 2012 Olympics Athletes Village
London Olympics 2012 : off-site venues
London Olympic Stadium Building
London Olympic Stadium designers : Peter Cook with HOK Sport
Royal College of Pathologists HQ, Alie Street, East London
Architects: Bennetts Associates
photograph : Peter Cook
Royal College of Pathologists East London
Comments / photos for the London Olympics Stadium Construction page welcome