London Olympics Handball Arena Building, Image, Sports Venue Design, Construction, Photo, News

London Olympics Handball Arena

2012 Sports Venue, England – design by Make Architects with PTW

17 Nov 2010

London Olympic Handball Arena News

Latest aerial photos from the London Olympics site:

2012 Olympic Handball Arena
Make Architects with PTW and Ove Arup and Partner

photo from ODA
London 2012 Games Handball Arena

Design: Make Architects with PTW and Arup

22 Dec 2009

Public get front row seat as London 2012 Handball Arena comes out of the ground.

The foundations of the London 2012 Handball Arena are complete and the public have a front row seat at london2012.com as the venue comes out of the ground.

The Handball Arena ‘Big Build’ started in July, two months early. Two hundred concrete columns have been drilled 25 metres into the ground to form the foundations with 55 pile caps and 550m of concrete ground beams. The venue has started coming out of the ground with the lifting into place of thirteen of 30 concrete walls, which are pre-fabricated in Ireland and will support the upper tiers of the seating. The 10m high walls sit on top of a 300 tonne concrete slab.

London Olympics Handball Arena site photos, Dec 2009:

images from Olympic Delivery Authority

Work is underway on the 1000 tonne steel frame of the Arena, which is being fabricated in Bolton. The steel frame is on track to be complete by next summer when work will also have started on the roof and external cladding, with the distinctive copper layer added later in the year

A new webcam is capturing the construction of the distinctive Arena which will include sustainable features such as 88 ceiling light pipes feeding natural light into the venue.

The Handball Arena is on track to be completed by summer 2011 ready for test events. During the Games the Arena will seat up to 7000 spectators and host qualifying games for the Handball competition as well as Modern Pentathlon Fencing and Goalball during the Paralympic Games.

After the Games, the sustainable 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 for indoor sports including: Basketball; Wheelchair Basketball; Boxing; Handball; Badminton; Judo; Netball; Futsal and Volleyball.

Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins said:

“We are right on track to deliver a distinctive Handball Arena that will provide a great experience for competitors and spectators during the Games and offer a new sustainable and flexible facility for local people to enjoy a wide range of sports in legacy. Our new webcam enables people to watch first-hand the Arena coming out of the ground as well as the other permanent Olympic Park venues as the project enters its toughest year.”

Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee Sebastian Coe said:

“The Handball Arena will provide athletes the world over with a state-of-the-art facility at Games-time and the local London community with a much needed flexible indoor sports arena in legacy. The new webcam will allow local residents and fans of the sport all over the world to chart the construction progress of what will be one of the great new build venues for the 2012 Games.”

The Olympic Park Legacy Company is responsible for the development, planning, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park site, including the Arena, after the Games. With the option to accommodate up to 1500 additional seats, the Company could also offer the venue for cultural, entertainment and business events.

Jules Pipe, elected Mayor of Hackney, said:

“The new multi-sports venue in Hackney is a great opportunity to offer local residents access to world-class facilities to take part in a wide range of sports, as part of the legacy of the 2012 Games. The Council will continue its work to offer all our residents further opportunities to enjoy healthy lifestyles through sport and physical activity.”

Handball Arena factfile

” The venue features over 3,000 sq m of external copper cladding, mostly recycled, to give it a distinctive appearance that will develop a rich natural colour as it ages.
” Over 700 sq m of glazing which encircles the building at concourse level will enable visitors to the Olympic Park to view sport taking place inside, and illuminating the venue when lit at night.
” The venue also has retractable seating to create a flexible legacy space and 88 light pipes in the ceiling to allow natural light into the venue.
” Rainwater harvesting from the roof for toilet flushing, will help to reduce water use by 40 per cent
” 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 sqm field of play hosting sports including: 5-a-side football; Netball; Boxing; Basketball; Volleyball; Badminton; Table Tennis; Handball; and Futsal
” The venue could also host in legacy: Hockey; Martial arts; Kabaddi; Wheelchair Basketball; Fencing; Sitting Volleyball; Goalball; Wheelchair Rugby, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Judo and Fencing.

Previously:

20 Jul 2009

London Handball Arena

Handball Arena starts early as work underway on all Olympic Park venues

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.

images from Olympic Delivery Authority

London Olympics Handball Arena : Further Information

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

Olympic Handball Arena joint architect – make

Location: Stratford, London, England, UK