London Aquatics Centre
London Aquatics Centre Profile
| LOCATION: Stratford, London | COUNTRY: United Kingdom | YEAR OPENED: 2011 |
| CAPACITY: 17,500 | OWNER: | GAME: Swimming |
It was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Zaha Hadid in 2004 before London won the bid. The centre is located in the Olympic Park at Stratford in east London. It has been built alongside the Water Polo Arena, and opposite the Olympic Stadium on the opposite bank of the Waterworks River. With its distinctive architecture and curved roof, it will be the first venue visitors see upon entering the Olympic Park. The Project Architect was Jim Heverin. The site is 45 metres high, 160 metres long, and 80 metres wide.
Construction
The Aquatics Centre contract was awarded to Balfour Beatty in April 2008. At the same time it was reported that the centre would cost about three times as much as was originally estimated, totalling about £242m. The cost increases were attributed to construction inflation and VAT increases, and also included the estimated cost of converting the facility for public use after the Olympics and Paralympics. The roof is stated to be 11,200 square feet (1,040 m2), a reduction from the previously stated 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2).
Despite the cost increases, the centre should stay within the total construction budget for the event, which is an estimated £6.09bn.
Construction started in July 2008 and was completed in July 2011.
The aluminium roof covering has been provided by Kalzip. The steel structure was built in cooperation with Rowecord Engineering. The ceiling was built with 30,000 sections of Red Lauro timber.
The six-board dive tower is made from 462 tonnes of concrete. The steel roof weighs 3,200 tonnes. The three pools hold around 10 million litres of water.
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