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London 2012 - Olympic Stadium - DETAIL - Magazine of Architecture + Construction Details
London 2012 - Olympic Stadium - DETAIL - Magazine of Architecture + Construction Details
London 2012 - Olympic Stadium - DETAIL - Magazine of Architecture + Construction Details
Construction
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Architect: Populous
As one would expect nowadays, sustainability also played a major role in the design of the Olympia Stadium. The weight of the structure was
minimized by a reduction in the amount of steel and concrete used, which in turn led to a decrease in the associated grey energy. Large quantities
of scrap metal were moreover used in the roof of the stadium – including 2,500 tonnes of steel tubing made using old gas pipelines and Metropolitan
Police guns. Thanks to this pragmatism often maligned by critics, only one quarter of the steel required in the construction of Beijing's ‘Bird's Nest’
was used in London.
An intelligent concept was also developed for the period after Olympia: the original plan called for the stadium to be converted to an athletics
stadium after the Games, which is why all the construction elements of the temporary upper steel structure were designed to allow partial
disassembly. The idea was to turn the 80,000-seat stadium into an open arena with 25,000 seats in this way. In the meantime, economic issues have
conflicted with the initial concept and two football clubs have expressed interest. A new round of bids after the Games is intended to decide on the
future of the Olympic Stadium. The variability and adaptability explicitly realised in the building may in fact not even have to be made use of in the
end.
Diagram: Populous
To allow a post-Olympics conversion, the structure is composed of two parts: an elliptical sunken concrete bowl built into the ground
accommodating the lower seating rows, and an independent structure comprising the upper tiers and roof, which was planned as a temporary
construction. V-shaped steel supports act as bracing as well as carrying the steel truss structure that forms a compression ring. A delicate cable
construction holds the lightweight roof membrane sections. Special features to allow simple demountability of the superstructure are also found in
appropriately designed details, such as bolted rather than welded steel connections.
The Olympic Stadium is traditionally the venue for athletics competitions as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Wind conditions in athletic
sports stadia are important, not least because records achieved by athletes may be considered as invalid if the measured wind speed is found to
exceed two metres per second in specific areas of the competition grounds. In order to minimize this risk, various roof geometries were examined
by Populous in an earlier planning phase. Computer-aided flow simulation models showed that about two-thirds of the spectator seating has to be
covered to ensure optimal wind flow conditions.
The stadium roof is composed of 112 membrane sections covering a total area of 24,500 m². Individual elements are made of a PVC-coated polyester
fabric, with a thickness of approximately one millimetre and an area of up to 210 m². Detailed cutting plans allowed crease-free installation of the
elements, exact positioning of openings for water pipes and service access points, as well as placement of electric cables for the lighting towers.
Start of assembly phase - installation of the first membrane section, photograph: seele.com
Photograph: seele.com
Lighting technology has to meet demanding requirements for TV transmission of athletics competitions. A total of 532 lights are organised into 14
towers to protect spectators and athletes from glare effects. These are situated 63 m above the field of play on the structural nodes of the inner
tension ring. The lighting towers weighing 35 tonnes each are held in position by means of cables from the truss behind.
Critical voices have recently focussed on the decorative strips of material draping the stadium, which are intended to act as markers and direction
signs for visitors. These retrospectively fitted panels are 2.5 metres wide and 25 metres high. The 'wraps' were manufactured by Dow Chemicals, a
company that is also accused of environmentally irresponsible behaviour. Even the bright colours designed for the wraps by the artist Sophie
Smallhorn cannot really detract from this controversy, especially in view of the fact that the 336 banners will be removed again after the Games –
there goes the radical functional approach, with a good ecological balance thrown in for good measure.
The future use of the stadium is likely to be much debated even after the Olympic Games are over. A decision may be expected in October 2012 at
the earliest. Whether an athletics world championship will take place here in five years, as initially planned, also depends on the flexibility of the
future tenant.
Client: ODA, Olympic Delivery Authority
Architect: Populous