Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Things You Might Not Know About The Olympic Stadium

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Things You Might Not Know About The Olympic Stadium
The 80,000 strong Olympic Stadium may be in the midst of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London this year but have you ever stopped to think what will happen to the structure after the event comes to a conclusion and what makes it such an attractive proposition?

One thing is almost certain, the stadia won’t remain as an 80,000-seater venue with proposals from football clubs West Ham United and Leyton Orient suggesting reductions to respective 60,000 and 25,000 capacities.
The Olympic Legacy Company is the institution who makes the decision regarding the future of the Olympic Stadium but a number of legal wrangles between the aforementioned West Ham, Leyton Orient and another professional football side, Tottenham Hotspur, have halted the race to win the keys to the ground in 2013.

Whatever the outcome, the Olympic Legacy Company will be desperate to avoid a situation similar to their Greek counterparts which has seen their stadium equivalent described as a place of “desolation and despair”.

To the naked eye, the London Olympic Stadium presents a bowl-like shape with triangular pointing lights that spike out at the top of the structure. However, there is much more to the building of the venue which cost £500m to construct and three years to build using formwork – all of which makes it a worthwhile acquisition to bidders. To demonstrate, here are some things you may not know about the Olympic Stadium.

Second Olympic Stadium
Built in less than a year, the first Olympic Stadium to grace the UK was in 1908 after the country stepped in for Rome who were originally due to host the event. It cost just £60,000 to construct and even incorporated a swimming pool in the middle of the stadium. It was demolished in 1985.

Built in layers
Like the dissection of an onion, the Olympic Stadium can be peeled back in layers. Architects Populous specifically designed the stadium with its long-term legacy in mind. The temporary layers of the structure include the roof, the wrap and the upper tier seats which can all be stripped off to reduce the capacity to a total of 25,000

The roof
The existing roof on the Olympic Stadium is made of PVC rather than more common place materials such as steel or concrete. This decision was made so the roof could be easily dismantled and have a minimal environmental affect while reducing costs. 

Black and white seats
You may have noticed the black and white seat design within the stands of the Olympic Stadium. Shaped in jagged shards, the colour scheme is meant to be a tribute towards the London 2012 graphics and logo which also features sharp and cutting edges. The lines of the design are co-ordinated to point at towards the 100m finishing line – representing the point which energy radiates.

Retail
The bars, food areas and information points have all been built as individual pods that are located in and around the stadium which means they can easily be removed without the added hassle of reconstruction to the formwork of the structure.


An experienced and talented copywriter, Matthew Wood writes SEO savvy content for a collection of online publications and web projects.  Matthew's latest work involves writing creative and engaging content on the subjects of Scaffolding Supplies and Formwork for the established online brand Unit Plant Services.

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