LONDON | 2012 Olympics Park Development News

[PortoNuts]

Games a win-win for London

The 2012 London Olympics development looks like being both environmentally inspirational and a financial success for decades after the games are over. At the recent Green Cities conference, Dan Epstein, director of sustainability for the London Olympic Authority, shared some highlights of that rare item – a major development coming in before time and under budget.

The site, in Stratford, East London, was horribly polluted, with its soil contaminated by more than a century and a half's chemical factory runoff, heavy metals, landfill and poisons. The average life expectancy of its residents was eight years less than that of those in nearby more affluent areas. "this was the dumping ground of London," said Epstein.

So the Olympic Authority aimed high, allocating 75p in every pound spent on the site to permanent infrastructure. More than 220 buildings were removed and 90 percent of the demolition materials were saved for reuse on the site.
The contaminated soil was put through gigantic soil washing machines, allowing 85 percent of it to be reused in landscaping. Extra materials were brought to the site by train or barge (the defunct canals were dredged and cleaned for the purpose) to achieve a 75 percent reduction in the carbon cost implicit in road transport.

Buildings, like the aquatic centre and the velodrome, were designed with later use in mind – large portions were demountable so after the games, smaller, more workable community facilities would be left. The Olympic Village was designed for future use too, currently providing 17,000 apartments in mixed-use developments with public transport, walking and cycling routes to greater London.

The landscaping produced "the largest British Park to be delivered in more than a century", with a development strategy which encompassed 10, 15 and 20 year milestones. In 20 years' time the site will have 2 million sq m of retail space and 20,000 homes. And the people weren't neglected either. Nearly 240 trainees benefited from the Olympic Apprentice Scheme.

This is a truly inspirational example of what can be achieved if you carefully plan the rejuvenation of an existing city area. The Olympic Park Legacy Company will be running the site after the Games end, and it will be working with a well-planned, exceptionally green precinct. As surprising as it seems, there could be some lessons here for the the redevelopment of the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane and, hopefully, for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

http://www.propertyoz.com.au/Article...x?p=16&id=4185

[metroranger]

Quote "Extra materials were brought to the site by train or barge (the defunct canals were dredged and cleaned for the purpose) to achieve a 75 percent reduction in the carbon cost implicit in road transport"

Has anyone seen any barges moving materials, I certainly haven't and I walk down the Greenway to work nearly everyday.

The stabilising of the tidal flow has had a negative effect on the Three Mills Island Trust who were hoping to generate electricity in the tidal mill to get an ongoing income for upkeep and repair of the historic tidal mills. This is now unfeasible with such a small mill pond.

A great fuss was made about the Prescott Lock and it has hardly been used.

I guess it's a case of who shouts loudest, the developers with lovely waterside premises instead of smelly tidal mudflats and the Trust trying to maintain some historic buildings.

[PortoNuts]

Watch part 5.

[metroranger]

Thanks for that PortoNuts, great movies but as a local I know that a great hype was made about the the Prescot Lock being needed to deliver materials. However the tidal time constraints made it unviable to navigate the large barges from Prescot Lock to the Thames compared to rail.
The Olympic Park zone ends just a few hundred meters short of Three Mills. if only the Mills were included, perhaps they too would of had a more sustainable future.

[jerseyboi]

[jerseyboi]

from bbc

[PortoNuts]

Lessons of Barcelona-on-Thames: 1992 Games provided model for London... and few warnings

Barcelona has been hailed as the Olympics that set the standard for leaving a legacy beyond the two-week sporting event. And today it can be revealed that the 1992 Games provided the model for next year's event. London 2012 hired the Catalan city's chief architect to pass on the blueprint from the Barcelona Games, which has bequeathed well-used sports venues and a new coastal quarter of the city.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor during the 2012 bid, said Barcelona's achievement in transforming run-down areas had shaped London's plan to regenerate the East End. "The 1992 Games were a model for us, I often talked during the bid about creating Barcelona-on-Thames," he said. "Theirs was primarily a plan about using the Games for regeneration. After we won the bid I went back to ministers and fought for more funding to improve the wider area. Barcelona helped me make the case."

Barcelona's legacy masterplan was simple. The benefits of new buildings were distributed across the city in four sports "clusters", each connected by a new 30-mile road link that would speed athletes to events, but also alleviate road congestion after the Games. An apartment complex for 15,000 athletes was built in the then derelict docklands to the east of the city.

The makeover of the area - now known as the Port Olimpic - was complete as city planners created a marina for the sailing event and turned an industrial tip into a three-mile stretch of sandy beach. All this was linked to the city centre by an extension of the Metro. Barcelona, thanks to the Games, had reclaimed its seafront. This exercise in rebalancing the city's wealth to the east convinced Mr Livingstone that the Lower Lea Valley could be regenerated for London 2012.

Josep Acebillo, one of Spain's leading architects who led the Olympic building quango, was the link for this, acting as a consultant to the London 2012 project in its infancy. He said: "We [Barcelona] were the first Olympics conceived primarily for the transformation of the city. London was influenced by our philosophy through Lord Rogers (architecture adviser to Mr Livingstone)."

Mr Acebillo said that by the time Barcelona was awarded the Olympics in 1987, all the building blocks were in place. A legacy plan had been agreed two years earlier; world-class sports venues such as the open-air velodrome had been built during the bidding process; and there was plenty of cash. However, of the £10 billion in public funds, only 10 per cent went on new stadia with the bulk used for improvements to transport, housing, irrigation and re-shaping the city's seafront. When the Standard visited Montjuic, Barcelona's Olympic park, it is clear that the legacy plans have succeeded.

At the former gymnastics venue, a stylish domed structure, a group of roadies unpacked for the weekend's sold-out Kylie Minogue concerts. Nearby, scores of recreational swimmers enjoyed the 50-metre pool while outside a group of schoolchildren on a daytrip play among the pergolas and modernist art installations after a picnic. At the Port Olimpic, the marina was coming to life as crews prepared boats after their winter hibernation. The harbour now boasts the Catalan Yachting Federation's HQ and its youth academy, and the eight restaurants created in 1992 have multiplied tenfold.

At the seven-storey Olympic village, built on the site of a railway which once cut Barcelona off from the seafront, there is a waiting list for one of the 2,000 flats. The athletes' dining hall has been converted into a shopping mall; their polyclinic is the GPs' surgery; and there is a 17-screen cinema. Development has spread further east with the 19th-century warehouses - rebranded @22 - now the address of film studios, new media and loft apartments. Think of London's Olympic ripple effect reaching beyond Stratford to Barking and you have a measure of what has been achieved.

But regeneration has had its critics with locals voicing their opposition by daubing anti-gentrification graffiti across the warehouse conversions. According to Mayor Jordi Hereu, the Games put Barcelona firmly on the map. A global television audience of several billion got a taste for the city, most famously by watching the diving competition with divers framed against a backdrop of Antoni Gaudí's gothic church, the Sagrada Família.

"It was the start of Barcelona going from a local to a global city" said Mr Hereu. "There's also something intangible which was the pride given to the people of Barcelona." It was fortunate timing that the Catalan capital attained global recognition as the era of budget airlines took off.

The number of airline passengers to Barcelona has tripled over two decades to 29 million and hotel capacity has more than doubled to 60,000 rooms in the same period. But for all its triumphs, Barcelona has failed to find a solution to the problem of the legacy of the main Olympic stadium. Last year resident club Espanyol FC moved to a purpose-built football stadium after fans complained that watching their team across a running track killed the atmosphere.

Mr Hereu points out the 70,000-seat venue still hosts regular internationals. But the fact the home side is Catalonia and not Spain means it remains a millstone. It is food for thought for Boris Johnson, as West Ham prepare to make its Stratford equivalent home.

Barcelona

Athletes 9,300

Nations169

Budget £11bn

Concept The regeneration games. Minimal new sports venues; four main clusters spread around city and major overhaul of deprived eastern docklands.

Olympic Park Existing hillside Montjuic Park, home to world-famous Miro museum, was main hub with revamped Olympic stadium, new swimming complex, gymnastics arena and wrestling venue now home to the national sports research institute

White elephants velodrome does not meet international standards. Main stadium has no anchor tenant

London

Athletes10,500

Nations 205

Budget£9.3bn

Conceptcompact Games with majority of sport in new urban park.

Olympic Park former low-rent industrial site given £8bn makeover with new Olympic stadium, aquatics centre, velodrome and village

White elephants Questions remain over long-term viability of main stadium and the only Olympic broadcast centre ever purpose-built for Games could yet be demolished

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...ew-warnings.do

[TheWalker]

I can't belive the Barcelona games were £11bn whilse ours is only £9.3bn

[PortoNuts]

A lot of people will say that's already way too much.

[PortoNuts]

[PortoNuts]

I'm not sure this is a promo video but the title and the fact that an Olympic Stadium render is shown are suggesting.

[PortoNuts]

[PortoNuts]

IT sector given temporary shot in arm from Olympics job boost

The Olympic Games could create up to 5,000 jobs in the IT and telecoms sector, with £250 million potentially on offer for wages. According to a report from IT recruitment agency Greythorn, the Olympics will provide significantly greater opportunities for the UK because of the “unprecedented level of technology services” required to cope with the 2012 Games.

As well as the benefits for other job sectors such as construction, a huge operation will be required to put in place a technologically sound infrastructure that is able to support the media presence, as well as coping with cyber security measures. “The IT and telecoms infrastructure required to host the Olympics will leave a significant high-tech footprint on the UK labour market,” said Greythorn MD Paul Winchester, stating that elements such as the introduction such as emergency service lines and expansion of WiFi coverage will mean significant short term job increases.

Also with mobile-operator-turned-international-spy-ring Huawei offering to help put in place a mobile network on London’s dilapidated Underground there will be plenty to keep an eye on.

Greythorn believes that this will all mean that the London games are set to have a greater legacy than previous Games in Sydney, Athens or Barcelona, with total permanent and temporary jobs expected to far exceed the 77,000 mark seen in Atlanta. This is thought to be due to the stronger capacity of the private sector in London that will enable the continued economic momentum provided by the Games.

While many of the jobs created will of course be short term in nature because of the timescale of the events, Greythorn spokesman Tom Cartlidge told TechEye that there will be longer lasting jobs too. “The Olympics will essentially bring large firms into the UK with investments that will create IT jobs, however we expect that this will continue into longer term contracts with companies once they have become established here,” Cartlidge said.

“The Olympics is likely to just be the start of investment.”

Although a downturn can be expected immediately after the games, some projects have been put into place that are designed to “promote economic activity after the Games”, with £28 million put forward by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games programme to secure more long term jobs.

However there are inherent security risks in the recruitment of large numbers of new employees on such a high-profile, and potentially high-risk event, which employers need to be aware of. “Employers are always concerned over recruitment safety and this is one of the reasons why longer term contracts are often preferable in such environments, as there are more risks with short term employees,” said Cartlidge.

"Long term contracts are important in this sense as they allow greater monitoring of employees with regard to security issues.” However the main reason for longer term contracts are certainly economic.” Who exactly the jobs will go to is another question entirely.

http://www.techeye.net/business/it-s...pics-job-boost

IT jobs sector will see Olympic boost of £250m

The London 2012 Olympic Games will generate hundreds of millions of pounds for the IT and telecoms sector through the creation of new jobs.

This is according to new research from Greythorn, an IT recruiter, which found that as many as 5,000 new jobs within the aforementioned sectors will be created due to the Olympics.

The increase in IT and telecom workers will come from the need to improve technology services, such as emergency service lines, WiFi coverage and cyber security, in order to meet the demands of the Games. The average salary for IT and technology professionals is £48,562. If the estimated 5,000 jobs are created this will equate to £250 million being generated per year.

Paul Winchester, Managing Director of Greythorn, says: “The IT and telecoms infrastructure required to host the Olympics will leave a significant high-tech footprint on the UK labour market.

“The demand for skilled technology professionals is already increasing markedly. Given that 5% of the UK’s 29.12 million strong workforce work in IT and telecoms, and government forecasts suggest 103,000 permanent jobs will be created by the Games, our estimate may be on the conservative side.”

http://www.thegrapevinemagazine.com/...t/?newsid=3790

[PortoNuts]

[PortoNuts]

Over 3,000 additional BA flights forecast for London during 2012 Olympics

With less than 500 days to go, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to welcome up to 70,000 members of the “Olympic Family” and sponsors, as well as 600,000 spectators. These large volumes, combined with the increased numbers of Heads of State and VIPs, will mean that the summer months of 2012 will witness some of the busiest periods of air travel ever experienced across London and the South East of England.

To support the Department for Transport (DfT) in preparing for this challenge, Atkins, the UK’s largest engineering and design consultancy, is providing expert airport and aviation advisory services. Early in 2010 Atkins delivered a comprehensive demand forecast for summer 2012 air traffic and undertook a detailed assessment of airport capacity across the South East of England.

Forecasts compiled by Atkins indicate a net addition over the peak 31-day period of the Games, of about 240,000 passengers over baseline commercial air passenger numbers. On the peak day, predicted to be 13 August after the closing ceremony, there are expected to be up to 200 additional departures from the five primary London area airports.

A significant contribution to the additional air traffic demand will be from business and executive aviation flights, forecast to account for over 3000 additional flights in the peak 31-day period.

The DfT subsequently commissioned Atkins to provide a detailed study into the potential demand for, and use of, commercial helicopters across the London area for air transport purposes during the Games. With these studies complete, the DfT, in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has also now launched a brochure, prepared by Atkins, entitled “London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics - Airport Options for Non-Scheduled Flights” which will serve as a guide to airports across the South East, providing detailed information for international dignitaries and entourages that will be flying to the UK to attend the Games.

Flowing from the reports, and in cooperation with the wider aviation community, the Government is proposing to introduce new measures to help control the flow of aircraft in the air and on the ground during the Games period.

The CAA has recently published a number of temporary changes to airspace that will be implemented for summer 2012 and the DfT has completed a consultation on the proposal to implement slot coordination across the majority of airports in the South East of England for the Games period.

Mike Pearson, Airport Development Director, Atkins said, “Our work has shown that London’s airports can handle the air traffic demands of a large international event such as the Olympics and that they offer sufficient capacity and flexibility to accommodate the varying demands that will be imposed. Whilst the current studies have not fully addressed the impact of every possible operational hitch, the early strategic assessment of airport requirements during Games-time allows us to identify and address any potential issues.”

http://www.blueskyexecutiveaviation....2_olympics.htm

[PortoNuts]

Hockey players will compete on blue pitches for the first time ever at an Olympic Games following an announcement from the London 2012 Organising Committee today.

Traditionally hockey is played on a green surface but Locog have approved the move to blue, which should provide a striking contrast with the white ball and pitch markings.

In a further break with the tradition, the pitch run off areas will be coloured pink, to offer what Locog describe as a "striking and dynamic look" to the Hockey Centre.

The venue, which is a temporary stadium based at the northern end of the Olympic Park, will be completed in the spring of 2012. The main pitch will host all the 76 matches played between July 29 and August 11.Team GB hockey international Alex Danson was involved in the colour testing and backed Locog's decision to go with blue.

"The London Blue pitch is great," she said. "It provides a really strong contrast for players against the white ball and white lines and I quickly adapted to the change. I really like the pink surround as well. It's another great example of hockey's willingness to lead the way and try new things. It will certainly make the sport stand out in 2012."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oth...announces.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oth...announces.html

[koc12hi]

superb............. Logo of olympics is also nice to see
its great work done

[Parisian Girl]

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com...pload_id=16228

[Parisian Girl]

By Jonathan McEvoy Olympics Correspondent | Last updated at 1:21 AM on 30th March 2011


Green for go: The newly-turfed Olympic Stadium in all its glory


Turfed out: Fredricks (right) and Lord Coe oversee the laying of the last turf at the Olympic venue


Almost there: Only the running track remains to be laid in Stratford

Britain has won the first race of the London Olympics - by building the stadium in world record time.

The showpiece arena that will host the stars of track and field in 485 days' time, took just 1,000 days to complete, around 90 fewer than planned.

It also came in under budget at £486million, a saving of £10m on the original estimate.

After the national embarrassment of the cost of rebuilding Wembley spiralling to more than £1billion and dragging on for seven years, the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium had the final piece of turf laid to mark its official handover to the Organising Committee.

Lord Coe said: 'As chairman of the Organising Committee to be able to tick off this venue is terrific.

'It is fantastic. I think it will be an intimate theatre for sport and it has fantastic legacy potential.

'I do not want anybody to run away with the idea that this stadium is ready to stage a track-and-field championship tomorrow. We have work to make it ready for a competition.'

The running track, gantries, cabling and scoreboards must still be added before it is used for the test event in May next year.

Nonetheless, the completion of the structure under the direction of the Olympic Delivery Authority - the body responsible for building all venues with £9.3bn of Government funding - is timely with the International Olympic Committee's eighth inspection of the site due to start on Wednesday.

Populous, the architects behind Arsenal's acclaimed Emirates Stadium, designed the structure, which was built by Robert McAlpine with the help of 5,000 workers from 240 British businesses.

The honour of laying the final piece of turf fell to Frankie Fredericks, four-time Olympic silver medal-winning sprinter.

'Just walking in, the sheer magnitude of the stadium hits you,' said the Namibian, who is in London as part of the IOC inspection.

'But if you have 80,000 people and you are from Britain it is going to be a big welcome.

'When people start cheering, I think the British athletes will find a wonderful experience.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/oly...-schedule.html

[jamcc]

Originally Posted by metroranger

Thanks for that PortoNuts, great movies but as a local I know that a great hype was made about the the Prescot Lock being needed to deliver materials. However the tidal time constraints made it unviable to navigate the large barges from Prescot Lock to the Thames compared to rail.
The Olympic Park zone ends just a few hundred meters short of Three Mills. if only the Mills were included, perhaps they too would of had a more sustainable future.

I was looking around the area there on Street View when bored at work and there are some really pretty ex-industrial buildings that would have been great to include.