zaha hadid completes london aquatics center all images © hufton + crow

 

 

 

construction for the ‘london aquatics centre’ for the london 2012 summer olympics by zaha hadid architects is now complete. capable of holding 17,500 individuals at one moment, this facility will be the venue for the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo events. sheltering the sports events, athletes and supporters is an aluminum clad steel roof which spans 160 meters in length and 90 meters at its widest point. three substantial concrete columns effortlessly support the 3,000 ton sweeping overhead structure. the double curvature parabolic structure visually evokes the form of an undulating wave. on the interior, 850,000 tiles surface the pools, changing facilities and and floors. the cluster of concrete towers including the three meter springboards and diving platforms were formed and cast onsite.

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center main diving and swimming event pools

 

 

 

a pedestrian landbridge crosses over the training pool supported by a monolithic concrete roof. a repetitive pattern of penetrations within the construction form work generate voids for skylights allowing daylight to uniformly illuminate the space. ground granulated blast furnace slag, a by-product of steel production, was recycled and added as an aggregate to reduce the necessary concrete content by 50%. the pools’ collective volume is ten million liters of water, redirecting excess pool water to be used as toilet water within the restrooms. once the games are completed, the facilities capacity will be reduced to 2,500 individuals while swimming pools, moveable floors and practice diving areas will be added for use by the community.

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center olympic pools, diving platforms and stands

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center diving pool

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center diving platforms

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center holding area behind the platforms

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center monolithic concrete bases

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center view of pool and stands between the platform bases

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center view from platforms

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center glass enclosure viewing diving platforms

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center stairs

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center overhead voids provide views of the stands

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center training pool

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center training pool

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center voids within monolithic concrete ceilings allow natural illumination

 

zaha hadid completes london aquatics center concrete ceiling detail

 

 

 

project info:

program: aquatics centre for 2012 summer olympics and future use client: olympic delivery authority architect: design zaha hadid architects project director: jim heverin project architect: glenn moorley, sara klomps project team: alex bilton, alex marcoulides, barbara bochnak, carlos garijo, clay shorthall, ertu erbay, george king, giorgia cannici, hannes schafelner, hee seung lee, kasia townend, nannette jackowski, nicolas gdalewitch, seth handley, thomas soo, tom locke, torsten broeder, tristan job, yamac korfali, yeena yoon project team [competition]: saffet kaya bekiroglu, agnes koltay, feng chen, gemma douglas, kakakrai suthadarat, karim muallem, marco vanucci, mariana ibanez, sujit nair

 

 

consultants:

sports architects: s+p architects (london) structural engineer: ove arup & partners (london, newcastle) services: ove arup & partners (london) fire safety: arup fire (london) acoustics: arup acoustics (london) façade engineers: robert-jan van santen associates (lille) lighting design: arup lighting (london) kitchen design: winton nightingale (london) maintenance access: reef (london) temporary construction: edwin shirley staging (london) security consultant: arup security (london) av + it consultants: mark johnson consultants (london) access consultant: access = design (london) cdm co-coordinator: total cdm solutions (cardigan) breeam consultant: ove arup & partners (london) contractor: main contractor: balfour beatty (uk) timber sub-contractor: finnforest merk gmbh site area: 36,875 m2

 

 

total floor area:

legacy: basement: 3,725 m2 ground floor: 15,137 m2 first floor: 10,168 m2

olympic: basement: 3,725 m2 ground floor: 15,402 m2 first floor: 16,387 m2 seating area: 7,352 m2

footprint area: legacy: 15,950 m2 olympic: 21,897 m2