The latest completed venue for the London 2012 Olympics is the Basketball Arena, a PVC tent designed by Sinclair Knight Merz with Wilkinson Eyre and KSS. 




A patterned surface is created on the exterior where the skin stretches over arched frames.




The arena will host handball and basketball during the Olympics next year, and wheelchair rugby and basketball for the Paralympics.




Two thirds of the structure will be reusable after the games are over, when the building will be completely dismantled.




Basketball Arena becomes fourth Olympic Park venue completed
The London 2012 Basketball Arena has become the fourth Olympic Park venue completed, more than a year ahead of the Games and is one of the quickest venues to finish construction, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced today.




The Basketball Arena is one of the largest temporary venues ever used for an Olympic and Paralympic Games and will be dismantled after the Games to be reused elsewhere. Initial works on site began in October 2009, with work to erect the 1,000-tonne steel frame starting in March 2010. The venue has now been completed on budget, making it one of the quickest Olympic Park venues to finish construction.




With the ODA’s construction works completed, the venue will now be handed over to the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) to carry out overlay works to get the venue ready for the first Olympic Park test event in August – the venue will host the London International Basketball Invitational to be held from the 16th-21st August which will see six top men’s teams from around the world come to London to compete (Great Britain, Australia, China, Croatia, France and Serbia).




During the 2012 Games, Basketball preliminary matches and Women’s quarter finals will be staged at the Arena, in addition to the Handball men’s quarter finals, all semi finals and medal matches. It will also host Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby during the Paralympic Games.




ODA Chief Executive Dennis Hone said: ‘Completing construction on the Basketball Arena delivers another striking Games-time venue for the Olympic Park and an innovative structure that can be re-used elsewhere after 2012. As the fourth Olympic Park venue completed and one of the quickest to finish construction, the Basketball Arena is another milestone for the Olympic Park ‘Big Build’ and a tribute to the companies from across the UK involved in its delivery.’




Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: ‘Basketball is one of the most atmospheric competitions of the Games and this has been captured by the artistic design of the Arena. The speed with which this venue has been constructed is a tribute to the ODA and the architect whose design means this facility can be re-used after the Games.’

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe said: ‘Basketball is one of the most popular Olympic sports and spectators will be able to see the game played out in spectacular surroundings. It is a superb venue which will be the centre of some of the best team action during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.’

Venue factfile:

Venue design and facilities and design:
12,000 seats – black and orange seating designed to represent the colours of a basketballVenue is 35 metres high (as high as the Tate Modern) and longer than a football pitch at 115 metres long1,000-tonne steel frame wrapped in 20,000sqm of recyclable white PVC membrane, stretched over three different variations of arched panels.During the Games the exterior will act as a canvas for an artistic and innovative lighting design.Venue facilities including lifts, toilet blocks, corridors and VIP access rooms installed beneath venue seating frameAfter the Games the venue will be dismantled by the contractors which built and own the temporary elements, with the option of potentially using elements of the arena at other UK and overseas events.Construction

The Basketball Arena design team was lead by Sinclair Knight Merz together with Wilkinson Eyre and KSS

The venue was constructed by companies from across the UK, including:
Scotland: Barr Construction in Glasgow built the structure.West Midlands: Slick Seating in Redditch is providing the temporary seating. South West: Base from Bristol provided the membrane cladding for the outside of the Arena and Mitie from Bristol carried out mechanical and electrical works. South East: Envirowrap from Tenterden in Kent is providing the wrapping for the seats; Sevenoaks-based Volker Fitzpatrick is erecting the steelwork, building the toilet blocks and internal fit-out, including lifts. Northern Ireland: McAvoy from Dungannon is building the temporary accommodation.Yorkshire: Fullflow Group Ltd in Sheffield is a sub-contractor to Barr Construction and will be installing the syphonic drainage.Sports:

Sports to be staged at the Basketball Arena include:

Basketball: The Olympic Basketball competition will have 288 athletes competing for two gold medals – 144 men and 144 women, and 12 teams of 12 players in each competition.Handball: Two teams of seven players pass and dribble a small synthetic or leather ball using only their hands. The aim is to score a goal by throwing the ball past the defending goalkeeper. The team with the most goals wins.Wheelchair Basketball: As in Basketball, played by two teams of five players on the court. It is similar to the Olympic game, with same size court, basket height and near-identical rules.Wheelchair Rugby: Played indoors on a regulation size basketball court using a white ball identical in size and shape to a volleyball. Teams have four players on the court and the object of the game is to carry the ball across the opposition’s goal line.




London firm Hopkins Architects have completed the Velodrome, the first of the five permanent venues on the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympic Games.




The hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped steel-framed structure sits on a 360 degree glazed concourse at entry level, and is clad in timber with little apertures to allow for natural ventilation.




The lightweight, double-curving, cable-net roof structure was designed to reflect the shape of the cycling track.




6,000 seats are located all the way around the track and are split into an upper and lower tier by the glazed concourse.




48,000 cubic metres of material was excavated to create the bowl in which the building sits.




The London 2012 Velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic indoor cycling events and also includes changing rooms, retail facilities, workshop and a viewing concourse.




Selected riders from the Great Britain Cycling Team tried out the Velodrome for the first time today including Beijing Games medal winners Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Jason Kenny and Ross Edgar, together with rising stars and established names in the GB cycling team. The cyclists were joined in unveiling the Velodrome by ODA Chairman John Armitt, Seb Coe Chair of the London Organising Committee (LOCOG), Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and other guests.




Velodrome design:

The Velodrome design team were chosen following a design competition in 2007. Shortlisted architects were assessed by a jury which featured leading names from the architectural world and Olympic Champion Chris Hoy. This ensured design excellence would site alongside the best possible facilities for cyclists.
The winning design team designed the Velodrome to be lightweight and efficient to reflect the efficient design of a bicycle. The distinct Velodrome roof has been designed to reflect the geometry of the cycling track, using a very lightweight double curving cable net structure.

Cable-net roof structure weighs 30kg/m2 compared to 65kg/m2 for the Beijing Velodrome. The 6,000 seats are split into a lower and upper tier, allowing a 360 degrees concourse level in between with a continuous ribbon of full height windows offering views out across the rest of the Olympic Park and London skyline. The external sides of the Velodrome are clad in a striking Western Red Cedar timber to draw a parallel with the timber track inside the venue.




Velodrome construction:

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) started construction work on the Velodrome in March 2009 – it was one of the last of the big 5 venues to start work but will be the first Olympic Park venue to be completed in early 2011. Some 48,000 cubic metres of material was excavated to create the bowl for the Velodrome, enough to fill 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

2,500 sections of steelwork were installed to form the Velodrome structure, rising in height by 12 metres from the shallowest point to the highest part of the structure. The cable-net roof lift took eight weeks to complete and features some 16km of cabling, covering an area of 12,000m2. The Velodrome is one of the most sustainable venues in the Olympic Park and the lightweight roof weighs roughly half that of any other covered Velodrome, helping create a highly-efficient building. The striking outer cladding of the venue uses 5,000m2 of Western Red Cedar timber.



Velodrome track:

The Velodrome has been designed with the aim of creating the world’s fastest cycling track by tailoring the track geometry and setting the temperature and environmental conditions within the venue to create record-breaking conditions. The venue has also been being designed with seating all the way round the track to create the best possible crowd atmosphere during events. Renowned track designer Ron Webb oversaw the design and installation of the 2012 track having previously worked on the Sydney and Athens Velodromes.

A team of 26 specialist carpenters installed the track over a period of 8 weeks. 56km of surface timber from a sustainably-sourced Siberian pine was laid to form the track surface, fixed into place with more than 300,000 nails.




Velodrome sustainability:

The building has been designed to be lightweight and efficient to reflect the efficient design of a bicycle. The use of abundant daylight through strategically positioned rooflights reduces need for artificial lighting, and natural ventilation is achieved through openings in the external timber cladding of the venue.
Heating and ventilation systems to meet cycling environmental requirements, allowing the highest performance by the elite cyclists, whilst maintaining high energy-efficiency. Compact design minimises energy consumed to heat the main arena.

Water saving fittings and collection of rainwater for reuse in building are built into design to help reduce water consumption. Lightweight cable-net roof structure weighs 30kg/m2 compared to 65kg/m2 for the Beijing Velodrome, helping create a highly efficient building.




Velodrome facilities:

6,000 seat Velodrome – to host the Olympic and Paralympic indoor track cycling events in 2012
250m UCI (International Cycling Union) approved indoor track
360 degree Public Concourse for viewing all cycling activities
8 changing rooms
Café and event serveries
Bike hire & retail outlet – families can hire bikes to use the new facilities
Cycle workshop, Gym + physio, and storage for over 300 bikes
Venue will be linked into cycle routes across London, linking the new venue with the whole of the capital









Here are some more photographs of Zaha Hadid‘s recently completed aquatics centre for the London 2012 Olympic Games, taken by UK photographers Hufton + Crow.




The competition pool is also located in this hall, which will seat 17,500 spectators during the games.




Six curved concrete diving boards stick out like tongues across one pool at the end of the main hall, beneath an undulating wave-like roof.

























Petal-shaped openings allow light through the concrete ceiling of a second hall, where a practice pool is located.



Wide glass walls provide views of pools in both rooms from connecting corridors.










Artist Anish Kapoor has won a commission to design a 115m high public artwork at Olympic Park in London, to be built as part of London’s Olympic Games in 2012.



The sculpture, called ArcelorMittal Orbit, has been designed in collaboration with structural engineer Cecil Balmond of Arup. Top image courtesy of Arup.





Here’s the press release:
–
ANISH KAPOOR TO DESIGN ICONIC LANDMARK FOR OLYMPIC PARK
The ArcelorMittal Orbit set to become UK’s largest sculpture. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, today unveiled the artist and design chosen to create a spectacular new visitor attraction in the Olympic Park.

Award winning London-based artist Anish Kapoor has been given the commission of a lifetime to design the spectacular new public attraction in the Olympic Park. The stunning artwork, to be entitled ‘The ArcelorMittal Orbit’, will ensure the Park remains an unrivalled visitor destination following the 2012 Games, providing the key Olympic legacy Mayor of London Boris Johnson envisaged for the East End.

The breathtaking sculpture – thought to be the tallest in the UK – will consist of a continuous looping lattice of tubular steel. Standing at a gigantic 115m, it will be 22m taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York and offer unparalleled views of the entire 250 acres of the Olympic Park and London’s skyline from a special viewing platform. Visitors will be able to take a trip up the statuesque structure in a huge lift and will have the option of walking down the spiralling staircase.

One of the world’s most distinguished contemporary artists, Turner Prize winning Anish Kapoor studied in London, where he is now based. He is well known for his use of rich pigment and imposing, yet popular works, such as the vast, fleshy and trumpet-like Marsyas, which filled the Tate’s Turbine Hall as part of the Unilever Series, the giant reflecting, pod like sculpture Cloud Gate in Chicago’s Millennium Park and his recent record breaking show at the Royal Academy, the most successful exhibition ever presented by a contemporary artist in London.

Anish Kapoor’s proposal has been developed in collaboration with one of the world’s leading structural designers, Cecil Balmond of Arup. Balmond, who trained and lives in London, is known for his innovative work on some of the greatest contemporary buildings in the world, such as the CCTV building in Beijing, as well as numerous Serpentine Gallery pavilion commissions. The two began working together on the Marsyas project in 2002 and have become renowned for their ambitious, large-scale public art projects.

ArcelorMittal will fund up to £16million of the £19.1million project with the outstanding £3.1 million provided by the London Development Agency. The unveiling also marks ArcelorMittal’s announcement to become a tier two sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, to support he infrastructure and success of 2012.)

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell agreed the commission in partnership with Mr Mittal after bringing together a panel from the art and design world to advise on a long list of proposals. Anish Kapoor’s team made an outstanding proposal that would be accessible and leave a fitting 2012 legacy.

Anish Kapoor said: ‘I am deeply honoured to be invited to undertake this challenging commission. I am particularly attracted to it because of the opportunity to involve members of the public in a particularly close and personal way. It is the commission of a lifetime.’

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: ”Long after the Games are over our aim is to have a stunning spectacle in east London that will be recognised around the world. I’m thrilled that when visitors from every corner of the globe plan trips to our must see attractions they will now eagerly include the ArcelorMittal Orbit! It will be an internationally acclaimed family attraction and I would like to thank Mr Mittal for his generous support. Anish Kapoor’s inspired art work will truly encapsulate the energy and spirit of London during the Games and as such will become the perfect iconic cultural legacy.”

Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, commented: “The Olympic Games are one of the few truly iconic global events. I was immediately excited by the prospect of ArcelorMittal becoming involved because ArcelorMittal is a global company with operations in more than 60 countries. And as someone who lives in this great city, I remember the great excitement felt when it was announced that London had been selected to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We set out to create a transformational piece of art that will be an iconic symbol for the Olympics and also a new landmark that will endure long after the Games themselves. Everyone at ArcelorMittal is delighted with the outcome of the ArcelorMittal Orbit. London will have a bold, beautiful and magnificent sculpture that also showcases the great versatility of steel.”

The attraction will stand in the southern part of the Olympic Park between the Stadium and Aquatics Centre and will open in time for the 2012 Games. After completion, the Olympic Park Legacy Company will take ownership and run the visitor attraction.

Minister for the Olympics and London Tessa Jowell said: “This stunning structure will become a new iconic London landmark towering 115 metres into the London skyline. Alongside the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre, Anish Kapoor’s brilliant design will be like to honey to bees for the millions of tourists that visit London each year. Having been involved in this project from the outset, I’m now looking forward to seeing it go from a great idea into a brilliant reality.”

Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Seb Coe said: “Our ambitions for the Games are very clear and very simple. We want to leave leaving a lasting legacy: of more young people playing sport, of changing public attitudes towards disabilities through the Paralympic Games, of an extraordinarily transformed landscape in East London, in which this impressive sculpture will play a central role. The new sculpture will be an indelible memory, a declaration of legacy and a definable landmark that Londoners and people from around the world will enjoy visiting during the Games and long afterwards.


Margaret Ford, Chairman of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, said: “When you are able to combine an industry leader with a world renowned artist, supported by significant investment, we clearly see the significance of the Olympic Park. This visitor attraction will sit alongside our other iconic venues and, in animating the site, will encourage the public to use the park. This is a magnificent legacy asset.”
Advisory panel members Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Serpentine Gallery, said: “The success of Anish Kapoor’s Marsyas commission Tate Modern in 2003 and his exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2009 demonstrates that his work already strikes a chord with many people. His close partnership with the distinguished engineer Cecil Balmond has created the exciting prospect of a sculpture to be climbed, an unexpected view of the city and a new place to visit and enjoy in London.”

Tate Director Sir Nicholas Serota, who sat on the advisory panel, said: “We are delighted that Anish Kapoor with Cecil Balmond will give London a new structure which is one of the most exciting new commissions of our time. The collaboration between Anish Kapoor, Cecil Balmond and Lakshmi Mittal bridges art, architecture, engineering and business to produce a new landmark for London.”





This 100 metre-tall glass elevator is the winning entry by Rotterdam studio Donis in a competition to design a temporary landmark for Aldgate, east London.



Called London Gate, the structure has been commissioned to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and will be in place from January 2012.





It will mark the start of High Street 2012, the route that will join the City of London to the Olympic Park in Stratford.




Update 27/07/10: the design has been revised and will no longer include the elevator platform.






Here’s some more information from Donis:

DONIS wins first prize in the international competition ‘A New Landmark for Aldgate’ with ‘London Gate’.
The Architecture Foundation, on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects, has selected the ‘London Gate’, designed by Fernando Donis, as the winner of the competition to design a new gateway to the City of London.

For the competition, nearly 100 designs from around the world were presented and judged by a panel including Alderman Mike Bear, City of London; Achim Borchardt Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery; Roger France, Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects; Sarah Ichioka, Director, The Architecture Foundation; and Peter Murray, Chairman, New London Architecture. Participants were required to design a New Aldgate, a temporary landmark on the eastern edge of the City of London, to stand for the duration of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, to open in January 2012.

Rather than creating an entirely new landmark, the ‘London Gate’ will regenerate the City (London’s historic financial centre) by reinventing the antique Ald-gate into a modern outlined ‘access’ for the public at High Street 2012, connecting the East of London and celebrating the Olympic Games. Rather than only functioning as a horizontal gateway, the project also allows vertical access via a glazed elevator platform within it, running along the structure. The scheme works as a public ‘naked’ tower amidst the extravagance of privacies; a post- and-lintel type measuring 100 meters by 12 meters part of a system of architecture.

DONIS is an international office based in Rotterdam practicing architecture and engaging in projects for the city. The office is committed to defining an architectural system to rethink the relationship between architecture and economy. DONIS is currently developing projects in the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and the Netherlands; DONIS previously received first prize for the International Competition for the National Courthouse in Paris and the first prize for the Dubai ThyssenKrupp Elevator Architecture Award 2009, among several international finalist entries.

The office is directed by Fernando Donis who previously led numerous projects at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture together with Rem Koolhaas for seven years; designer of projects such as the Renaissance Tower in Dubai, Porsche Design Towers in Dubai, New Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia, the CCTV headquarters building in Beijing, among many others. Fernando Donis is also a PhD candidate at the Berlage Institute and TU Delft.


Here are some photos of the completed 2012 London Olympic Stadium designed by Populous. 


Construction was completed this week and the 80,000-seat stadium will now be prepared with a running track, scoreboards and gantries before a test event in May next year.


According to the Olympic Delivery Authority construction is complete three months ahead of schedule and cost £10 million less that the original estimate.



29th March 2011 marks the completion of the construction contract at the Olympic Stadium where the last piece of turf is being laid by ODA Chairman John Armitt.



Rod Sheard, Senior Principal at Populous, the Stadium architect said: “The construction of the world’s most environmentally friendly Olympic Stadium has taken just over 1,000 days, in the world of major construction it could be considered a sprint, its completion marks the beginning of the end of the construction phase of London’s Olympic Games. We can now all look forward to just under 500 days of the final preparation to when the world will see this innovative design perform for the first time.”








A prototype of the London 2012 Olympic Torch by designers BarberOsgerby was unveiled in London this morning. 



Made from a golden aluminium alloy, the triangular torch will be perforated by 8000 circular holes representing the 8000 torch-bearers to take part in the Olympic relay and allowing glimpses of the burner system inside.



It will comprise an inner and outer skin, joined by two cast elements at each end.



It will be 800mm high and weigh 800g.





Creative agency iris has unveiled Wenlock (right) and Mandeville, the mascots for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.




The two characters are based on blobs of steel used to make the girders for the Olympic stadium, and feature headlights derived from the hire light on London taxis. 




Wenlock, the mascot of the Olympic Games, is named after the English town of Much Wenlock, which inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin to found the modern Olympic movement.




Mandeville, the mascot of the Paralympics, is named after the town of Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.



Wenlock
How did I get my name?
My name is inspired by Much Wenlock in Shropshire, a town that is at the heart of Olympic history. In the 19th century, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was invited there to watch the Much Wenlock Games, which were inspired by the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. De Coubertin was inspired by the Much Wenlock Games, too, and went on to found the modern Olympic movement. The Much Wenlock Games are still held to this day!



Mandeville
How did I get my name?
My name is inspired by Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. On the same day as the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Sir Ludwig Guttmann held his own sport competition in Stoke Mandeville for World War II soldiers with spinal injuries. The Stoke Mandeville Games grew and grew until they became the Paralympic Games.