The Aquatics Centre after the Games
British companies are at the forefront of the construction of the 2012 Olympic site, says the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Balfour Beatty has won the contract to build the Aquatics Centre, and ‘Team Stadium’ (Sir Robert McAlpine, HOK Sport and Buro Happold) were confirmed as the contractor for the Olympic Stadium.
The Aquatics Centre is being designed by architect Zaha Hadid. It will be located in the south of the Olympic Park and will act as the main ‘Gateway into the Games’.
Hosting the track and field events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium is being designed and built by a consortium, ‘Team Stadium’. Previous projects have included the Arsenal Football Stadium and the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.
The shortlist of those teams competing to deliver the structures and bridges for the Olympic Park has been drawn up.
The project will play a major role in creating a compact and integrated Olympic Park and leaving an open and accessible area in legacy.
The companies shortlisted to build the wetland area bridges and central park bridge include Costain, Edmund Nuttall, Carillion Construction, John Sisk and Son (Holdings) and Lagan Construction.
The contract for the Wetland Area bridges will be awarded in Autumn 2008 with work due to start on site in early 2009. The Central Park bridge contract is expected to be awarded in late 2008 with work due to start on site in 2009.
Announcing the contract awards, ODA CEO David Higgins, said: “This is great news for the project and good news for world class British companies with so many UK firms involved."
Commenting on plans for the Aquatics Centre, Ricky Burdett, the ODA’s chief advisor on architecture and urbanism, added: “The Aquatics Centre has undergone a rigorous process of design rationalisation to meet changing functional requirements.
"Zaha Hadid’s design team has shown exceptional creativity in developing new solutions that keep the spirit and dynamism of the early competition scheme. The swimming and diving pool complex will have a dramatic, spacious curved interior that will create a special experience for swimmers and visitors alike.
"After the Games, when the structure will be ‘retrofitted’ to its legacy mode, the building will make a strong mark on the landscape, with its curvilinear forms and glazed facades acting as a visual gateway to and from the Olympic Park from Stratford.”
