Olympics 2012 – London’s Amazing Structures

Posted in Events, London at January 27, 2012

Apartmentsapart is gearing up for one of the world’s great wonders – the Olympic Games. We are gathering as much top notch accommodation for our customers as we can for this marvelous event. If you are thinking about visiting London during the Olympics you’ll have to plan ahead. London will be booked out. Just for fun, we’ve made a little compilation for you of the Olympic Village buildings you will be visiting.

In true British form, the incredible structures built to host the 2012 Olympic Games have been built on time. The event promises to be one of the greatest in history for those lucky enough to be there. Let’s take a look at these marvels of engineering.

The Olympic Stadium 

This is the first ever stadium with removable parts and temporary removable seats. To construct this behemoth over 4 million tonnes of waste were removed from the earth and 6500 cubic metres of recycled concrete was laid for the foundation. With true green enthusiasm the designers allowed for only 10000 tonnes of steel to be used which is extremely low for a structure of this size.

Completely surrounded by water, the area is ringed by bridges with an entrance to the stadium at the end of each one. Once the games are over the outer rings of seating will be removed, reducing seating capacity from 80000 to 25000.  The stadium also sports a cable-supported lightweight roof which covers 2/3 of the seating area. The main reason for the roof was to reduce wind which might invalidate world records set at the event.

This stadium cost  £537,000,000 compared to the cost of the 1908 Olympics Stadium at £60,000.

The Velodrome

Supposedly the greenest of all the Olympic Park buildings, the Velodrome design creates a perfect track level temperature and avoids the need for air conditioning. It also makes optimal use of sunlight to reduce electric lighting.

The Handball Arena

The Handball arena has an incredible exterior cladding that will dazzle as water and air turn the copper into an array of colours. Just as in the case of the Velodrome, the ceiling allows through a maximum of natural light to minimize the need for supplemental lighting.

The Press Centre

Large enough to accommodate five 747s side by side, this building has a brown roof, which is similar to a green roof but encourages bio-diversity. As time goes by the roof will develop all kinds of flora and will regulate the temperature in the building and the surrounding area.

The Aquatic Centre

Said to possibly be the most beautiful building in the world, designed by acclaimed international architect Zaha Hadid, the aquatic centre will host swimming and diving events. Longer than Heathrow terminal 5, it will have a 50m pool for races and a 25m diving pool. Just for good green measure, it will reuse pool water to flush the toilets!

If you haven’t booked your trip to London yet there is still time. We are not booked out and we offer amazing value compared to hotels, especially for larger groups. Return to our main site and book your apartment in London before it’s too late.

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