London 2012 Olympics site

Sunday, September 28, 2008

As part of the Open House weekend, I went on a tour of the London 2012 Olympics site. Construction work has just begun on some parts of the site, with lots of activity going on.

The main thing that strikes you is the sheer quantities of rubble and material on the site - all this will either be cleared and re-used to create the Olympic park.

Mounds of rubble on London 2012 Olympic site

The skyline is cluttered and crowded with cranes.

Cranes on London 2012 Olympic site

Over 200km of electricity cables criss-cross the site at the moment. These will all be moved into two underground tunnels.

Pylons on London 2012 Olympic site


This is the beginning of the Olympic stadium. The piles in the bottom left are the first of 3,500 on which the stadium will stand. Its design is magnificent - it's changeable fabric curtain design gives it flexibility and democracy, enhancing its rather simple structure.


Beginning of Olympic stadium, London 2012 Olympics site


These hollows are for the foundations of Zaha Hadid's Aquatic Centre.

Site of Aquatic Centre, London 2012 Olympic site

This canal was built to transport material to and from the site. The Olympic stadium will be on an island site, surrounded by water.

Canal on London 2012 Olympic site


The island site, plus the iconic wave roof on the Aquatics Centre, and the ubiquitous Thames imagery used in so many London logo leads me to think that water should be a theme of these Olympics. The opening ceremony should emphasise water, movement, fluidity, change, from ancient to modern, from 1908 to 1948 to 2012.

On the tour, I discovered that a public walkway goes right through the park, so I will definitely be going back to keep up with the progress.

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