London Olympic Games 2012: Architectural Wonders That Changed the City

OLYMPIC CHANGES

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games took place in London. And, as you know, great events call for great transformations. I want to tell you how the capital has changed while awaiting the Olympic Games and draw your attention to some architectural projects that changed the face of London.

The most important building which hosts the Olympic Games is surely the Olympic Stadium. It was built in Stratford, in the east of London. It had a capacity of 80,000 seats. Apart from the splendid architecture, what is truly amazing is that the new Olympic Stadium is an innovation in engineering and it is really flexible. The capacity of the stadium decreased to 25,000 seats after the Games ended.

The Olympic Park which was the heart of the London 2012 Olympic Games, was renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park after the Games. The size of the park really strikes. 2.5sq km is the size of the Olympic Park – the same size as 357 football pitches. Now it is the largest new urban park in the UK with the new sporting venues, parklands and residential developments.

The second impressive project which has changed the capital of the city is the London Aquatics Center. This swimming facility was designed specifically for the Olympics. The entire project’s cost was $385 million, but we should admit, it’s worth it, because it looks absolutely marvellous, the giant curved structured which has a total capacity of 17,500 spectators. The Centre contains a competition pool, competition diving pool and warm-up pool. The roof rests on just two supports at one end of the building and a supporting wall at the other.

One more incredible project is the the London Velodrome. The London Velodrome is also a part of the Velopark bicycling centre in east London. Both the indoor velodrome and nearby BMX racing track remained after the games ended in August. The 6000 seat structure benefits from natural ventilation instead of an air conditioning. The use of artificial light is also minimized because of the velodrome’s rooftop skylights.

The last but not the least significant building which I want to mention is the BBC Broadcasting House which was designed like a movie set. As a broadcaster for the 2012 Olympics the BBC aimed to broadcast online all 2,500 hours of the Olympic Games. The new building has become home to BBC News, Music and Radio. It has lots of studios and offices and it is one of the most advanced production centers in the world.

The Olympic Games became not just a chance for young athletes to break new records and gain worldwide fame, but also gave rise for architects to create structures dedicated to sport celebration. And, as you can see, these buildings have greatly changed London.

the Olympic Stadium.

the London Aquatics Center.

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