LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC VENUES PART 6 - Olympic Stadium

gulfnews.com | Thursday, July 26, 2012| Gulf News Gulf News Thursday, July 26, 2012|gulfnews.com OLYMPIC VENUES PART 6 OLYMPIC STADIUM The Orbit For all the roof structure, recycled materials were used some sections were made from meltdown scrap. others from an abandoned gas pipeline project, making it much more lighter and completely eco-friendly.- 60m 37m The ArcelorMittal Orbit Side view observation tower is the largest piece of public art in Britain due to its 115m height. The intricate concept was designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. The Orbit is sited between the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre, allowing visitors to view the whole Olympic Park from its two observation 315m The focal point of 2012 Games The jewel of the olympic crown The heart of the London Games was conceptualis ed by a team of architects and designers called Team Stadium. They decided to start the construction of all the foundations and the lower bowl when they didn't have the complete idea of the rest of the design, as they had to meet the design application dates, a huge risk. Team Stadium had one very clear idea, the stadium must be constructed in an eco-friendly way and must have a high reuse value, not allowing it to become a barely-used tourist monument like the 70m high Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in China. The wrap banners are made of eco-friendly plastic and ink materials, making it 35% lighter. Even the hardware used to hang them will be recycled.- platforms. Impressive Olympic Stadium will host 15 sessions of track and field competitions – as well as the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies The precast concrete upper bowl has a capacity of 55,000 seats- 112 steel sections provide the support to the upper bowl. 126,000 bolts were used to fix the temporary black section in place. Concept sketches by the Artists DUBAI By HUGO A. SANCHEZ 3D modeller & infographic artist and ÅLARIC GOMES Senior Reporter Spectators will reach the Olympic Stadium island via five access bridges. The permanent lower bowl has a capacity of 25,000 seats. This image can provide an idea of the venue's look after the Games. The Olympic Stadium 'will be at the heart of the 2012 London Park's status as the fo- cal point of the Games is only heightened by the surrounding waterways, which give it the feel of a standalone island. Land preparation for the sta- dium began in mid-2007 and official construction started in May 2008. The traditional opening cer- emony will officially begin pro- ceedings tomorrow before the great, the good and the hope- ful of begin their quest for gold on August 3. The 80,000-capacity arena will play host to nine days and 15 sessions of competition. The women's and men's 100-metre finals will be on Au- 80,000 seats split into the two tiers. track and field world gust 4 and 5 respectively, with the relay race finals on August 10 and 11 bringing the track and field competition to a close. Photographer boxes 360 rolls of turf were perfectly positioned to form the 9,000m2 pitch. Legacy mode West stand Hospitality Includes 410-seat dining area, plus 700 Closing ceremony On August 12, the Olympic Stadium will enjoy the world's focus for one final dazzling closing ceremony that will sig- nal the beginning of the count- down Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Built at an estimated cost of £486 million (Dh2.7 billion) by architectural firm Populous, the Olympic Stadium has also been chosen to host the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. This is the first Olympic Stadium built to be dismantlable after the games if no other use is found. Since the begining of the construction, the only pieces of the venue planned to be permanent were the island and the lower bowl, which will reduce its capacity to 25,000 seats, a more realistic number for future sports events. The west stand hospitality, access stairs and catering pods also will be removed. The organisers will install a roof with a similar concept to the actual one and the project to have a reusable stadium for a variety of sports, mainly athletics and cultural events, will be complete. The former Olympic Stadium will be the venue for the 2017 IAAF World Championships. 800,000 tonnes of soil were dug up rooms. to create the foundations. Lower concourse the 2016 Olympic Upper concourse Corporate hospitality boxes Permanent ground level Contains the medical support facilities, changing rooms and a 60m warm-up track. Access stairs Catering and commercial pods To fit the venue into the işland and preserve its compact design, the pods were located all around the stadium. Light tower 4,000 columns were installed to form the base for the stadium. I wanted to create a colour journey where the palette can evolve as the visitor approaches, enters and uses the building. (2) Steel tensed cables 12,000m I Sophie Smallhorn (1) Inner ring 450 tonnes Tunnel to warm-up venue Balcony glass 25,000m2 of PVC fabric cut into 112 strips cover 68% of the spectators and is the protection against the wind, a crucial factor that could play against the athletes' record-breaking efforts. The WRAP, a journey to give a face to the stadium 336 banners form the wrap of the stadium, looking like small doorways. Each banner has a white face and a coloured one with 56 diferent variations, based on the chromatic transition between the official colour pallette of the London Games; pink, orange, green and blue. The access stairs, the washing pods' front details and the balcony glass of the lower tier, use the same colour key, bringing to life the cold and monochromatic steel structure. Washroom pods 532 floodlights The initial idea to give an identity to the stadium was to wrap it all around with a membrane that would allow it to project video all over its surface, making it the biggest screen ever created. But that dream failed when the markets collapsed in 2009 and some private investors disappeared, then the goverment had to intervene. Team Stadium and the artist Sophie Smallhorn then came up with the idea of vertical banners that run from the top to the bottom of the roof frame and twisted in 90 degrees angle, around the stadium. The 7 million pound idea crashed when the goverment cut the budget due to the crisis. It was at the very last hour when the Dow Chemical Co. jumped in to sponsor the project, causing controversy as Dow has links with a company accused of the 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, India, that killed 15,000 people. While Dow denies any responsibility, the wrap installation work began in April 2012. are used in the 14 towers. Access stairs The roof structure The roof is a completely free-standing structure that supports its own weight. It is not attached to the seat bowls or any structure like most stadiums. The weight of the inner ring (1) - which was lifted with precision by a net of steel cables in an operation that lasted five days - is transferred by the tensed cables (2) to the outer ring (3), and then the weight is transfered to the ground by the colums (4). 25m (3)Outer ring 90 tonnes (each section) 28 columns support the rings and light towers' weight. 14 light towers were located over the inner ring(1). helping the stadium to reach its 60m height. Each one weighs 34 tonnes and has a power of 70,000 watts. The towers were set carefully in a certain order over its final place to level the weight of the structure, any error could be fatal in that stage. -All the metal structures of the stadium were bolted Transferred weight (4)Colums instead of welded to be easily dismantled after the games. |2.5ml Sources: http://planning london2012.com, www.london2012.com, www.londonlegacy.co.uk