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[Rafa]

I was going to post my velodrome design, but in case they select my design i simply cannot make it public as such....haha


11 September 2006 at 11:48
ODA to handle all Olympic planning in-house



The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced that all planning applications relating to the 2012 London Olympic Park area will now be determined by the organisation’s own in-house planning committee.

The move will mean all decisions within the Olympic boundaries – a strict geographical area that includes parts of the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Waltham Forest – will be made by a single committee.

The new body has 11 members, two from the ODA board, four local councillors recommended by the local authorities, and five independent members selected following an open advertisement.

Chairman of the committee Lorraine Baldry said: ‘The government has given the ODA the power to set up this committee so that planning decisions within the Olympic Park area are decided by one team to ensure the venues and infrastructure are delivered on time.’

The first decision by the committee is an advanced application allowing work to begin on the repair of the wall alongside the River Lea on what will be the aquatics centre site.

According to the ODA, the planning committee will act in the same way as other planning authorities, undertaking public consultation on new planning applications, all of which will be available on the London 2012 website.

by Richard Vaughan



The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will respond to heavy criticism of its procurement strategy for London 2012 venues by announcing a design competition for the velodrome.

In what is predicted to be one of the most sought-after commissions in the capital in recent years, the Olympic velodrome will be open to design proposals from all comers by the end of the year.

The forthcoming announcement will stand in stark contrast to noises that came out of the ODA earlier this year, when chair Jack Lemley vowed to use design-and-build contracts for all the significant schemes.

The prestigious project is likely to attract most of the major names in stadium design, such as HOK Sport, Foster and Partners, S&P Architects, David Morley Architects and Atherden Fuller Leng.

However, it will also be open to smaller practices.

The promise of a design competition has been particularly welcomed by the RIBA’s London chair Andrew Hanson, who claims it will be a great opportunity for smaller practices to get involved in one of the country’s biggest projects.

‘Obviously it’s great news if it does go out for a competition,’ he said. ‘We want to campaign for as many projects as possible to be led by architects.

‘I don’t want to be critical of the process, but moves like this will hopefully stir up smaller practices to get involved in what’s happening on the site.

‘It is a minor stadium in the bigger picture, and we want to launch a campaign to get smaller projects like this out to competitions.’

Lemley announced the decision to choose design-and-build contracts in April this year, claiming the move would ‘get the best bargain from the public purse’.

The declaration was slammed by architects as the original Olympic designs were said to have been pivotal in making up the minds of the International Olympic Committee when they selected London.

Design-led practices often argue that the design-and build contract can lead to the demotion of architectural standards in the construction process.

Although Hanson said he can understand the ODA’s move towards design and build, he does not believe it should be implemented throughout the Olympic site.

‘I can see how there’s a risk with some of the bigger projects, in regard to timing and budgets, but with the smaller stuff they can afford to be a bit more adventurous,’ he said.

The velodrome used in the 2004 Athens Olympics was designed by Santiago Calatrava, and became one of the stars of the show.

And despite the ODA remaining tight-lipped over the details of the stadium competition, it is hoped the London venue will attract similar praise.

by Richard Vaughan