London 2012 - Skybar and News

[huvet]

Originally Posted by ChingfordFlanuer

What's your problem Huvet?

DarJoLe is on site taking pictures and appraising us of the latest happenings from Pudding Mill Lane on a weekly basis.

Is it because he sees past the shortsighted, pennypinching, shareholder value at all costs posturing of the East London phobic Tories that you are really getting at him?

Shame on you right wingers, you are seemingly hard wired to stymie any progressive movement whatsoever.

What a pity so many are hoodwinked by your attendant media whores, mind you, what can we expect from an education system equally denuded of funding?

CF

I am not a right winger.

I am a construction insider who is astonished by the procurement, project management and design management of this project.

If you have a coherent point to make, please do so.

A childish enthusiasm for this project does not make for an informed polemic.

[Mo Rush]

ooh an insider.

[DarJoLe]

Originally Posted by huvet

I do not need to darjole to drip feed me information. I need said Darjole to honestly answer questions. He consistently defended the costs until
a) K Livingstone admitted on Question Time that they lied about the costs to secure the Olympic Legacy.
b) Someone qualified on costing posted stating how costing should be carried out.
Then he shut up about how good the costs were.
Darjole has consistently banged on about Legacy but has never posted any coherent evidence of legacy.
I have consistently said that if they are designing for legacy where are the legacy plans.
Darjole posted what looked like a draft Tfl plan that was less than clear.
Darjole consistently posts without source.

In future I will use Google and post sources. Could you ask Darjole to do the same.

I don't know what your problem is with me. I'm not the only one who posts articles on here or defends the Olympic project. I don't have time to reply to every question but that doesn't mean the answers aren't out there.

I give up I really do. I trawl the net for 2012 articles, post renderings from the maze that is the planning application, visit the site every few weeks and report back to here, and yet I still get abuse. In future I'll think twice about discussing the project here, seeing as it offends you so much.

[RobH]

Don't DarJoLe. Most of us appreciate your posts. If Huvet doesn't, that's his problem.

[tonkster]

That Huvet is a nasty piece of work...

[jerseyboi]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

I don't know what your problem is with me. I'm not the only one who posts articles on here or defends the Olympic project. I don't have time to reply to every question but that doesn't mean the answers aren't out there.

I give up I really do. I trawl the net for 2012 articles, post renderings from the maze that is the planning application, visit the site every few weeks and report back to here, and yet I still get abuse. In future I'll think twice about discussing the project here, seeing as it offends you so much.

keep going DarJoLe your work and photo's are excellent!
you are going get some folk with diffrent views!
please keep going

[Mo Rush]

i certainly appreciate ALL the updates by Darljoe and images and commentary. This thread in particular is a pleasant place until somebody arrives who won't give you the time of day until you join them on their soapbox declaring the games a major failure 4 years before its begun. If you dont disagree with everything about london 2012 then obviously you are a uneducated moron who knows nothing or nothing.

As somewhat of an outside, millions of miles from London I have to take a step back when people ask where the legacy is. Where the hell have you been the last three years???

Sure not all the legacy plans are in place, but for vicky pollards sake the benefits and legacy has been at the centre of the project. Providing the correct setting and context for legacy plans to be further detailed and developed. An Olympic project is a journey and NO city will EVER have all its legacy details in place this far out. As I've said before this level of planning, this early on, not only for the Games but for after the Games is unprecedented. This view is shared by Denis Oswald a REAL and experienced "insider."

[DarJoLe]

ODA in row over Aquatics Centre legacy provision
13 June 2008
bdonline.co.uk
By Rory Olcayto

A row has broken out between the Olympic Delivery Authority and Newham Council over leisure water facilities as part of the legacy provisions associated with Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre.

The ODA has proposed that the facilities could be incorporated in the basement of a new residential tower alongside the Aquatics Centre, but is refusing to fund such a facility. It suggested that Newham use a section 106 agreement — at a cost to the council of £23 million — to fund the scheme.
But Newham says that leisure facilities have been part of its legacy discussions with the ODA since the Aquatics Centre was conceived in 2004, and claims they should be provided from within the £9.3 billion Olympic budget

The council has written to the ODA expressing concern over the plans, which involve water slides, flumes, a fitness gym and wave machines.

This week London Mayor Boris Johnson also highlighted the Aquatics Centre as one of the 2012 projects that lacked a convincing legacy vision. Its design would hinder its transformation into a leisure facility with a “gigantic curly-wurly slide”, Johnson told London’s Evening Standard paper.

Council leaders have said there is huge demand for the leisure pool in Newham, whose population has one the youngest age profiles in London.

A project insider has suggested the ODA is more concerned with finessing the £303 million building’s roof design than addressing community needs.

Newham has offered £5 million towards a solution that would see leisure water built into the Zaha Hadid design, but the ODA has said that this is not an option.

Nick Williams, Newham’s Olympic communications manager said: “We don’t yet know what type of community will develop within the Olympic park after the games and don’t want to be forced down the route where we commit section 106 agreements to a function that we should inherit as part of the Olympic legacy. The ODA is prejudging what our needs may be.”

The ODA said that building a residential tower with leisure water facilities was “only one idea” it was considering with the London Development Agency.

It added that it was basing its legacy strategy on the Manchester Aquatics Centre which did not provide leisure water facilities.

A spokesman said: “The ODA is building an Aquatics Centre with a legacy plan. But the budget and the original brief do not include leisure water.”


MAYOR OF NEWHAM, SIR ROBIN WALES ON THE AQUATICS CENTRE LEGACY

"For a number of years we have been calling for leisure water to be an integral part of the legacy for the aquatics centre.

"Only last week the Government praised our pioneering free swimming programme that has encouraged people to get active. Our young people are telling us that swimming is the one of the things they want from the Games legacy.

"We have been working with partners to test the viability of including leisure water within the aquatics centre building. This was ruled out by the ODA in July last year.

"Since then we have been looking at alternative options that provide leisure facilities adjacent to the aquatics centre. We will have to look at these again in the light of the emerging shape of the legacy park, costs and funding proposals.

"Newham and Tower Hamlets have offered a significant capital contribution if a solution that meets local needs can be found, without the costs falling on the local community.

"We will continue to try and make sure the aquatics centre is fully accessible and fit for purpose for community use. This will include recommending improvements to the detailed design. We also want to ensure that the facility is something that local people can afford to use. We remain hopeful that the partners will deliver such a solution."

[DarJoLe]

London plans Games handover party
BBC London

London will host a free party in the Mall on 24 August to celebrate the handover of the Olympic Games from Beijing to London, the 2012 hosts.

A live concert for 40,000 people in the capital will coincide with the handing over of the Olympic flag at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games.

Coe is keeping secret the names of the bands playing at the party.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: "It is to start the narrative of what we want to be saying about ourselves.

"It is to link people back home into the celebrations in Beijing."

The concert will be broadcast live on TV and big screens will be set up around the country so spectators can watch the ceremony.

In Beijing, London will stage an eight-minute performance at the closing ceremony.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I'm suspicious of any state-sponsored effort to encourage any national mood of euphoria, but looking at what's going to be in store for us on the 24th I can say it will be a great party.

"It's going to be remorselessly and cheerfully symbolic of our country."

[Mancunian Monkey]

Originally Posted by DarJoLe

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I'm suspicious of any state-sponsored effort to encourage any national mood of euphoria

So presumably he'll be against any taxpayers money being spent on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 then? What a pillock.

[DarJoLe]

[ChingfordFlanuer]

Originally Posted by huvet

I am not a right winger.

I am a construction insider who is astonished by the procurement, project management and design management of this project.

If you have a coherent point to make, please do so.

A childish enthusiasm for this project does not make for an informed polemic.

With respect, Huvet, you cheeky bugger!

If you aren't a right winger I apologise, you come accross as yet another naysaying doom monger like our buddies at the Evening Substandard, who, I can only assume, are mightily hacked off that an area of London they think is marked on the map by "Here be monsters" has had the temerity to win such a glittering prize. Don't believe me that the paper is WestCentric to their very bone marrow? You obviously don't read it.

The endless biased reportage and nit picking are boring.

I am a council tax payer in an olympic borough, the "childish" entusiasm is born of a fierce hope that this event will see opportunity flourish in my part of the world, nothing too controversial there, if you don't like that, tough, the naysayers have plenty of other outlets for their billious rantings.

Although not an archetect, planner or builder I have been a regular visitor to this site (mostly as a lurker) for some time. I have an interest in urban renewal, transport, sport and London in particular.

I am a strong believer that environment plays a big part in sociology.

I defended DarJoLe because he regularly updates this thread and keeps us up to speed on happenings, this site is a rare haven for positive olympic news and he is a valued contributor.

I hope this isn't too polemical a reply for such an erudite and knowledgeable construction insider and that my own lack of expert knowledge may be excused.

CF

[london lad]

Originally Posted by huvet

I do not need to darjole to drip feed me information. I need said Darjole to honestly answer questions. He consistently defended the costs until
a) K Livingstone admitted on Question Time that they lied about the costs to secure the Olympic Legacy.
b) Someone qualified on costing posted stating how costing should be carried out.
Then he shut up about how good the costs were.
Darjole has consistently banged on about Legacy but has never posted any coherent evidence of legacy.
I have consistently said that if they are designing for legacy where are the legacy plans.
Darjole posted what looked like a draft Tfl plan that was less than clear.
Darjole consistently posts without source.

In future I will use Google and post sources. Could you ask Darjole to do the same.

Considering your a construction insider you been very little to the party except constant criticism. Why not bring some info instead or start your on little thread if your that bothered by sources. What people post on this thread is available in the public domain so if your that bothered add your own articles.

[Mo Rush]

Artist’s impression of the IBC/MPC during the Games
Page 7
http://www.london2012.com/documents/...-june-2008.pdf

looks like a great concept. fabric covering over trusses and beams creating a good ceiling height along with what looks like temporary structures to serve the media during the games. The "studio tower" concept is also interesting.

[DarJoLe]

Olympic village is delayed by funding problems
Matthew Beard, Evening Standard
17.06.08

Olympic chiefs have been warned about a year-long delay in the financing of the 2012 athletes' village caused by the credit crunch.

Inspectors from the International Olympic Committee put Games bosses on "amber alert" - meaning it is giving cause for concern - after learning that financing for the £800million-plus venue is almost one year behind schedule.

A public-private funding package was due to have been completed by last September but is not now likely to be finalised until this September.

The village - which will house 17,000 athletes and officials and then be converted into 3,500 homes - is the first 2012 venue to be flagged up by the IOC's system as amber.

Official documents say that although "work on the site is commencing on schedule", the development contract with Australian firm Lend Lease has been "delayed due to commercial negotiations".

The athletes' village was the only worry in an otherwise glowing progress report given to London 2012 by the IOC during their visit last month. However, it highlights the difficulty the Olympic Delivery Authority faces as Lend Lease struggles to raise finance during the credit crunch.

Earlier this month the Evening Standard revealed that the agreed taxpayers' contribution to the venue has risen to £420 million, which seems likely to result in the ODA raiding the £2.2billion contingency fund. It has also agreed to take on a greater degree of the financial risk, funding the "vertical build" rather than just the design and infrastructure as initially intended.

It is thought Lend Lease's contribution may have dropped by £200 million though negotiations continue with the ODA, whose chief executive David Higgins is a former chief executive of the Australian firm.

The IOC's Denis Oswald, who rated London's progress at "9.75 out of 10" last month, said: "We are fully confident that the village will be ready on time and will be available for the athletes long before the Games start."

A spokesman for the ODA said: "As has been well documented the challenging economic environment presents a challenge but with physical work underway on site we remain on programme.

"The Olympic Village is about more than just housing athletes during 2012, it will be an integral part of much wider regeneration, delivering new homes and community facilities."

[metroranger]

From BBC News.

Olympic stadium 'hits £525m mark'



The estimated cost of the main stadium for the 2012 Games has hit £525m, the mayor's Olympics watchdog has revealed.
A review of London's preparations for the games found the figure for the 80,000-seat stadium in Stratford, east London, had jumped £29m since November.
But the report by business tycoon David Ross noted the increased costs had been offset by savings elsewhere, leaving an increase in projected costs of £16m.
The stadium was originally priced at £280m in London's 2005 bid document.
New London Mayor Boris Johnson commissioned the three-week review.
Cost pressures
Mr Ross was chosen by the mayor to keep an eye on the Olympic purse strings. He sits on the London Olympic organising committee board as Mr Johnson's nominee.
He identified questions over the security of the 2012 Games, its legacy and the Olympic Village as key areas which need to be "focused on".

Significant additional public sector funding is likely to be required to deliver the project
David Ross
The report points to tighter controls on bank lending, falling house prices, increased oil and raw material costs and the threat of terrorism as factors which will add "significant pressure" to the cost of the Olympics.
Mr Ross noted difficulties in securing finance for the Olympic Village and said work was ongoing with the developer, Lend Lease, and its banks to secure private equity and debt funding.
He warned: "In all scenarios some significant additional public sector funding is likely to be required to deliver the project."
However, he said savings made elsewhere meant there "has only been a very small increase in the overall anticipated final cost of the total programme of £16m."
He identified that security plans were "significantly behind the rest of the planning".
"It is absolutely vital that significant progress is made quickly on security planning so that necessary facilities are identified early enough to be provided cost effectively," he said.
And while he said there would be transport and regeneration benefits from London hosting the games, he issued a word of caution with regards to a lasting legacy.
"I am disappointed that we find ourselves at an advanced stage of the procurement process without clear and agreed plans for legacy for a number of important venues."

[DarJoLe]

So basically the Mayor's official has said what everyone including the ODA already knows- in these changing financial times, there will be increases, and there will be savings.

Nothing particularly shocking there then.

[jerseyboi]

From designweek



more about the 'current look';

The Wolff Olins’ 2012 Olympics logo is taking on a new look, tailored to the UK to celebrate the Olympic flag being handed over to London on 24 August. It will roll out from this week on, and will be applied to marketing materials which relate to the London 2012 UK handover events set to take place across Britain in the summer and this is the current logo design.

[DarJoLe]

Talking of the logo, I hope once this handover ceremony is over and London is in the spotlight we start to see the logo being used as it was supposed to be; animated, alive and very much taking on the digital life of its own it was supposed to be when it was launched.

I don't think I've even seen it animated anywhere on the London 2012 website which is a bit silly of them.

[metroranger]

Is this the animated logo you want?