London 2012 Legacy Thread cont'd.

[Rob2012]

Discussion about London 2012 and its legacy (previous thread now archived)...

Olympicopolis architects on their £1.3 billion vision for E20

The Olympicopolis scheme will see outposts of the V&A, Sadler’s Wells and Washington DC’s Smithsonian line up alongside new university campuses. The architects talk through their £1.3 billion vision for the Olympic Park

Olympicopolis is an ugly name for a beautiful idea — the creation of a museum and education complex at the south end of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The name derives from Albertopolis — the nickname given to Prince Albert’s grand vision for South Kensington in the wake of the Great Exhibition of 1851 that saw the building of grand edifices including the Natural History Museum, the Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The 21st-century version for east London, in plans seen for the first time by the Standard, promises to deliver a string of architectural pearls along Stratford Waterfront (fronting the River Lea just south of the stadium) that are of a scale and unity of conception not seen in London for generations. It will, in contrast to formal South Ken, see cultural institutions in brick and steel where the public will be encouraged to roam through perforated ground floors and along linking riverside terraces with outdoor performance and exhibition spaces.

Outposts of the V&A, Sadler’s Wells and Washington DC’s mammoth Smithsonian museum complex will line up alongside a new home for the relocating UAL's 5,000 London College of Fashion students and 500 staff and two 30- to 40-storey residential towers. Around a nearby bend in the river a second campus for University College London — UCL East — promises to embed its 13,000 students and staff in the local community.

Dublin architects O’Donnell & Tuomey and London-based Allies & Morrison are shaping the £1.3 billion vision. The Government is providing £141 million and the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Greater London Authority a further £198 million. The institutions themselves and private sector funding will contribute £789 million and a further £180 million is being fundraised philanthropically. A planning application is expected by the end of the year. O’Donnell & Tuomey is designing the V&A and Sadler’s Wells, Allies & Morrison the flats, the fashion college and the Smithsonian. A competition to design UCL East has just been launched.

More @ http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/olympicopolis-architects-on-their-13-billion-vision-for-e20-a3198041.html

[JMarkSnow2012]

Discussion about London 2012 and its legacy (previous thread now archived)...

More @ http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/olympicopolis-architects-on-their-13-billion-vision-for-e20-a3198041.html

Oh dear- is this going to turn into a "my tower block's bigger than your John Thomas tower block" situation?

[baron-pierreIV]

Geez, quite fugly!!

[TorchbearerSydney]

Geez, quite fugly!!

Should blend right in then...London's Olympic Park and surrounding areas are really ugly.....looked like a tarted up car park in an industrial park during the games on TV.

[Rob2012]

Geez, quite fugly!!

How can you tell? All these pictures show us is the massing which doesn't seem unusual for an urban context. We can only tell how good the buildings are once we see the actual architecture. They might be good, they might be shite.

Should blend right in then...London's Olympic Park and surrounding areas are really ugly.....looked like a tarted up car park in an industrial park during the games on TV.

Talk about missing the point of this thread. The central concourses during the Games were enormous because they were sometimes taking c200k people a day (the surrounding parkland and planting was actually very nice at ground level but I don't know how much of that you saw on TV).

In any case, this thread is about the transformation of the Park since 2012 and a lot of those concourses are narrower and the surroundings greener. The Olympics were a mid-point in the area's transformation, not the final chapter. This project is still ongoing - hence this thread.

Just before the Games

Last year:

Edited March 9, 2016 by Rob.

[zekekelso]

Oh dear- is this going to turn into a "my tower block's bigger than your John Thomas tower block" situation?

So, Donald Trump is going to be the builder?

[JMarkSnow2012]

So, Donald Trump is going to be the builder?

Good question. I wonder if he has investments in any of these (construction sites seen from the Park yesterday):

(I wonder if this is getting ready to make the helter-skelter?)

(Next to Pudding Mill Lane Station)

[JMarkSnow2012]

Nice article / interview in The Observer about Underworld, which inevitably touches upon their Olympic involvement. One paragraph in particular reveals an unexpected legacy benefit:

Another phrase has helped Smith’s approach to his art in recent years. It came from Mark Rylance, the original narrator at the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, Isles of Wonder (Kenneth Branagh stepped in when Rylance’s stepdaughter died three weeks before the event). As musical director of the production, Smith was in charge of soundtracking, and cueing in performers through their earpieces. “And I remember Mark saying to all of them when we were rehearsing, ‘You are enough.’

And I was suddenly, wow, oh, my god! He meant you can be taught by who you want, you can think what you want, but you are enough. Don’t worry. You can do this.” Smith nods. “We took that on.”

[Rob2012]

West Ham plan to adorn Olympic Stadium with ‘biggest digital screens in Europe’

It’s only a few months away now and this is what West Ham fans are likely to see as they approach their new home at the Olympic Stadium in August for the first game of next season.

This artist’s impression shows the giant digital screens that will be the largest in Europe, say the club - measuring 83m by 12m - and will show clips of West Ham heroes past and present as well as information and promotional material.

Plans for the new wrap have been submitted which, if approved, will “set a new benchmark in world stadia”, according to West Ham.

The new, improved plans replace a previously submitted application and the club are confident that the screens will remain “at an optimum level for day or night games in any weather condition”.

The new screens, if approved, are expected to be installed before West Ham’s opening Premier League match.



http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/west-ham-plan-to-adorn-olympic-stadium-with-biggest-digital-screens-in-europe-a3209881.html

[rogerdown]

West Ham increase capacity of Olympic Stadium to 60,000 due to demand

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjay8W4jNnLAhVCUhQKHTgTCh4QqQIIHTAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Fmar%2F24%2Fwest-ham-united-olympic-stadium-increase-capacity-60000&usg=AFQjCNFVSrLgISKXLiiZXTMLl8LjTKevsg&bvm=bv.117604692,d.ZWU

West Ham United have increased the matchday capacity at the former Olympic Stadium to 60,000 in response to spectator demand.

The Hammers are due to leave Upton Park at the end of this season and will play at the stadium in Stratford from the start of the 2016-17 season.

Which club will finish fourth in the Premier League?

Read more

The original capacity was set to be 54,000 but after the number of people registered on the Hammers season ticket priority list exceeded the number of seats originally available at the multi-use stadium, that has been increased by 6,000.

“Today’s announcement is further evidence of the upward trajectory of this club,” said West Ham’s vice-chairman, Karren Brady. “We are on course for what could be our most successful Premier League performance ever and our ambitions to finish in the top six and break into Europe are very much within reach.

“West Ham fans are famous the world over for their wonderful support. They have demonstrated this once again at matches this season and in the way that they have embraced the move to the new ground. We are delighted to be able to reward that magnificent support by releasing additional season tickets and bring even more visitors to the Park to enjoy all that it has to offer.

“The 2016-17 season looks bright for the team, the club and our fans. Not only will we have one of the world’s greatest new stadiums, but now it will be one of the very largest in the world’s most-watched league – a stadium with both the quality and the capacity to match our ambitions.”

David Edmonds, chairman of E20, the body charged with converting the former Olympic Stadium, added: “It is fantastic to see such a high demand for West Ham United tickets as it shows how eager people are to watch football at the stadium. By meeting this demand the use of the venue will be maximised, increasing its revenue and the return to the taxpayer.”

The mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, said: “Our investment in the stadium was all about giving as many Newham residents as possible the chance to see top class sport in the borough. This announcement further supports that commitment.”

[baron-pierreIV]

So temporary Olympic Stadium will NEVER be torn down or downsized and nobody ever bought the "temporary" 2012 basketball arena? Something's wrong with the legacy planning.

[JMarkSnow2012]

So temporary Olympic Stadium will NEVER be torn down or downsized and nobody ever bought the "temporary" 2012 basketball arena? Something's wrong with the legacy planning.

We all agree that the hijacking of the Olympic Stadium for football after LOCOG had very carefully had it designed to be as difficult as possible to use for anything except athletics (presumably in retaliation for the New Wembley stitch-up) has been a triumph of Borisism over common sense. Other than that though, provided the cost of installing and removing temporary venues was cheaper than the net cost of building and staffing / maintaining a permanent venue, then re-use of the seating alone would probably justify them.

[illustrado]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/olympic-bell-falls-silent-c75ljwp66

Ringing off: 23 tonne London Olympic bell falls silent

The largest tuned bell in the world, cast for the 2012 London Olympics, is to be silenced for good.

The 23 tonne bell was made for the opening ceremony and has been in storage since. It stands two metres (6ft 6in) tall, more than three metres (11ft) in diameter and rings with a deep tone that can be heard for miles.

The bell was last rung by the cyclist Bradley Wiggins during the £27m ceremony four years ago. Its future as an ornament rather than a working bell was discovered by Robert Lewis, editor of campanology bible The Ringing World,

[Rob2012]

Don't understand that. Unless it's to stop West Ham fans trying to climb up and ring it, in which case keep the bell and remove West Ham!

[JMarkSnow2012]

Don't understand that. Unless it's to stop West Ham fans trying to climb up and ring it, in which case keep the bell and remove West Ham!

Don't forget that the rope Bradley pulled was basically for show. The clapper mechanism was remote-controlled, and the chances of it working properly after one or two London autumns are close to zero.

I think we can be confident that the bell will ring again though, if only because attempts to prevent it from being rung will present a splendid challenge.

PS: It's just occurred to me that for anybody much west of Washington, the Times story dateline of 5.00 pm British time on 1 April would be before midday.

[JMarkSnow2012]

LLDC have now published the agreement with West Ham for use of the Olympic Stadium

queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/~/media/lldc/concession%20agreement%202016.pdf

Although the headline rent is £2.5 million per year, it's perhaps better to express it as £100,000 per match, as it pays for just 25 matches, each extra match costing West Ham an additional £100,000. So the big question then becomes how effectively LLDC can boost its income from the Stadium with other events such as concerts.

[arwebb]

We all agree that the hijacking of the Olympic Stadium for football after LOCOG had very carefully had it designed to be as difficult as possible to use for anything except athletics (presumably in retaliation for the New Wembley stitch-up) has been a triumph of Borisism over common sense. Other than that though, provided the cost of installing and removing temporary venues was cheaper than the net cost of building and staffing / maintaining a permanent venue, then re-use of the seating alone would probably justify them.

LOCOG's position on the stadium, though a noble one, was flawed from the very beginning for me. Born out of regret at seeing a very limited legacy for athletics in Manchester after the 2002 Commonwealth Games, it became, in my view, a dogma that has handicapped the legacy of the Games for too long and at too great a cost. From the very beginning of the bid process, I had, as I have made clear in these forums on many occasions, grave doubts about the legacy plan for the stadium. I believed then, as I do now, that a solution of the kind we have come to is the best chance of avoiding the kind of white elephant scenario we have seen too often elsewhere.

Now, to borrow a line from Jeremy Corbyn's EU speech today, it is possible to believe we have a good solution in terms of the layout of the stadium and be critical of the deal that has been done with the anchor tenant. While I certainly don't blame West Ham for seeking the best possible deal for their business, there is no doubt they have got an extraordinarily good deal and, with the vast amounts of money already floating around within the Premier League even before the massive new television deal starts next season, more should have been done to drive a harder bargain with them. But I would much rather have this stadium solution and this deal than a smaller stadium inextricably linked to a sport that struggles to put bums on seats outside of its biggest events.

[zekekelso]

So, at 2.5m per year, subtract maintenance, divided into the initial cost of the stadium plus the cost of turning it into a proper football stadium, that means it will have paid for itself... uh, never.

[TorchbearerSydney]

Shocking financial outcome for this hugely expensive stadium,,, so much for the 'financial legacy' of Olympic Park.

[JMarkSnow2012]

So, at 2.5m per year, subtract maintenance, divided into the initial cost of the stadium plus the cost of turning it into a proper football stadium, that means it will have paid for itself... uh, never.

Shocking financial outcome for this hugely expensive stadium,,, so much for the 'financial legacy' of Olympic Park.

Probably, but not necessarily. As I noted yesterday, West Ham's £2.5 million only pays for the right to hold 25 matches (plus the right to instal its branding), which between them will only tie up the Stadium for about 125 days a year. There's a couple of months set aside for athletics, but even ignoring those, there will be more days when West Ham is not using the Stadium than when it is. And the newly-revealed agreement allows for "Other Concessionaires"- so the question is, how many (in addition to the already-agreed use as a concert venue) can LLDC pack in?

[illustrado]

So, at 2.5m per year, subtract maintenance, divided into the initial cost of the stadium plus the cost of turning it into a proper football stadium, that means it will have paid for itself... uh, never.

you forgot to add the catering revunue, the branding revenue and the additional income for other event like athletics, rugby, criket or concerts.

west ham is basicaly bought a timeshare. they get to use the staduim of a certain 25 of days a year. other days other people get to use it.

[Rob2012]

New Blue track will be installed at London OS by the sounds of it

We will be running on blue at the @London2017 world champs

https://twitter.com/jamiefox1/status/727536054966870017

[Rob2012]

Aerial photo from Jason Hawkes:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Chx0bkTWwAAXqHh.jpg:large

[yoshi]

West Ham are playing their last game at Upton Park tonight. Bittersweet really - good to see Stratford get used but a shame to see the end of one of the proper fans' grounds.

[Rob2012]

I hope the poor Olympic Park survives

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36261252

Edited May 10, 2016 by Rob.