Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Celebrating Architecture in The Olympic Games 2012


The London Olympic Stadium for the 2012 games, located on a diamond-shaped island between two existing waterways, was designed by the architectural firm Populous, who specializes in stadia, convention centers and similar venues.  Work on the building was completed in 2011.

Architects' team took into account sustainable alternatives, and careful use of material to create a compact, flexible and lightweight design. "The main Stadium structure is light and elegant, clearly expressed by the external diagonal articulation of the white tubular steel of the roof and the internal slender black steel supporting the temporary upper seating tier. Between these two frames lies the concourse façade, the full height ribbon sections of the fabric wrap."

Inside, the seating bowl is compact, with the current capacity of 80,000 spectators, and the possibility of transformation after the Olympic Games down to a minimum 25,000 seats.  "The design makes full use of the site’s island situation, providing a complete circuit of spectator podium concourse around the stadium, connected by bridges to the main park. This podium concourse promotes the carnival nature of the event with a perimeter array of spectator facilities, particularly retail and food service, distributed along the natural boundary of the water’s edge." 

Information, quotes and photo taken from ArchDaily and Populous official website.
 

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