海角视频

Masterplan for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and legacy

London, UK

海角视频 played a key role in the dramatic regeneration of a corner of East London to transform it into a host for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to enable it to flourish after the games with a robust legacy development strategy. 

In 2003 海角视频 was first appointed as the principal engineer for the AECOM consortium. The consortium was selected to masterplan the transformation of Lower Lea Valley, which was one of Europe鈥檚 most deprived areas, into the site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, while also developing the masterplan for the site鈥檚 future legacy.

We have been playing a major role in this extremely complex East London regeneration project ever since.

The regeneration project transformed one of Europe鈥檚 most deprived areas into a world-leading development.聽

The site鈥檚 industrial past presented a range of challenges for the team.聽

The key challenge was to create a robust, co-ordinated and efficient infrastructure design package that combined the outputs of multiple different, inter-related workstreams.聽

We developed the urban infrastructure strategies for the future development sites of the Olympic Park, now known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.聽

Challenge

The site鈥檚 industrial past presented a range of challenges for the team. Our initial assessment revealed the site was criss-crossed by significant civil engineering features, including major water mains, high voltage electrical cables, canals, railways, roads and bridges. Its industrial heritage had left the area with polluted ground waters and land, and the river valley posed flood challenges that added to the poor provision of utilities and transport connectivity. 

To ensure future flexibility, the site design needed to be suitable for both large crowds attending the Olympics and Paralympics and for the smaller number of visitors to the site in the years following the games. During the planning of the central Olympic precinct, attention was given to ensure that the large areas of public domain required for the safe and comfortable passage daily of more than 250,000 spectators could be reduced to provide a more intimate environment for future legacy developments. 

The key challenge was to create a robust, co-ordinated and efficient infrastructure design package that combined the outputs of multiple different, inter-related workstreams, which were all individually highly complex.

Solution

As part of the original project team, 海角视频 integrated the outputs of eighteen different, inter-related workstreams to create a robust, co-ordinated and efficient infrastructure design package. On winning the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, the consortium recommenced work with the newly created Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Once the revised planning application had been approved it provided the catalyst for our further involvement on the Legacy Communities masterplan and framework in the Lower Lea Valley, with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). 

The designs for the Games and for the site鈥檚 future use were developed in tandem to ensure that more than 80% of the original platform for the games would benefit this revitalised quarter of London. The legacy transformation included replacing temporary venues to allow residential and commercial development. The award-winning masterplan also anticipated future changes in requirements for renewable energy inputs, climate change regulations, building regulation codes and waste reduction targets. 

海角视频 further developed the urban infrastructure strategies for the future development sites of the Olympic Park, which is now known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP). This work included water resource and flood risk management, energy and infrastructure design, carbon management and inclusive design. These were based on our in-depth knowledge of the site, supported by detailed analysis and modelling. Our on-going involvement enabled the client to make informed decisions and helped focus the choice of option studies, saving critical time and resources. 

To ensure the continued viability of the site, we started by defining the positioning and span arrangements for all the Olympic Park bridges. We then produced a family of highway bridge, footbridge and land bridge designs that were elegant, efficient, and low cost to build and maintain. The bridges also featured temporary additions that could be demounted after the games to scale down this important infrastructure element to meet legacy needs. 

Our water team has been leading on water resource and flood management since the first stages of the masterplan, including use of recycled grey and black water for irrigation of the park鈥檚 substantial parklands, and flood risk mitigation measures that have directly benefitted over 4,000 local properties, adding security and value in terms of legacy. 

Extensive habitat creation and riverbank softening works, combined with our site wide surface water drainage strategy and ground remediation strategy brought significant improvements in water quality and biodiversity across QEOP鈥檚 560 acres of parklands and waterways. 

海角视频鈥檚 site-wide energy and utilities infrastructure design included feasibility studies and procurement of a Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) contractor for the energy centre and 11kV district energy network. This 40-year concession represented a 拢100m investment and reduction in our client鈥檚 budget. It met the peak demand of the Olympics, and is providing scalable low carbon heating and cooling for all the legacy projects at a 57% carbon reduction. 

In addition to infrastructure design, 海角视频 provided a full range of engineering services for the two largest buildings on the Park, the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium and the 1.2m ft虏 ICT-resilient International Broadcast and Press Centre. We also led on their transformation into legacy modes, respectively as West Ham鈥檚 Premier League football stadium and athletics venue for London, and Here East, the cyber and creative hub for innovators and digital makers. 

The ODA Sustainable Development Strategy set out a range of bespoke standards relating to energy efficiency, water use, construction waste and materials. It also recognised the value of existing tools. It specified a new version of BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology). A BREEAM rating of Excellent was required for the permanent venues. The ODA, however, was able to go beyond these standards by developing its own project-specific requirements focusing on the outcomes it wished to achieve. They included requirements for low carbon concrete and energy performance. 

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park infrastructure, which included all the new bridges, also aimed to meet high sustainability standards, achieving an Excellent rating under CEEQUAL, now known as BREEAM Infrastructure.

Value

海角视频 took a responsible approach that would enable deliverability within the challenging deadlines imposed by the 2012 Olympic Games. Over the intervening 20+ years, 海角视频 has worked for a succession of clients (ODA, LDA and LLDC, West Ham, UCL, BBC, V&A and UAL鈥檚 London Fashion School) to successfully deliver the transformation. We have positively engaged with a wide range of local authority, community and statutory stakeholders, in the full glare of intense media interest and public scrutiny. Our detailed knowledge of the site, supported by a series of frameworks, guidelines and models, and informed decision-making helped focus the choice of option studies, saving considerable time and resources. 

Our work alongside the rest of the design team has seen the successful delivery of the masterplan for the Olympic Games, while also preparing for its reimagining as The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The park is now a diverse public space that is home to both cultural and sports facilities, as well as providing expansive open space for community activities.