The new designs were included in the planning application for the venue which was submitted today.

The Handball Arena will be in the west of the Olympic Park, to the south of the Hockey Centre, within four minutes of the Olympic Village. It will have up to 7,000 seats during the Games, hosting the Handball preliminaries and quarter finals as well as the Modern Pentathlon disciplines of Fencing and Shooting. It will also be the Goalball venue during the Paralympic Games.

In legacy mode after the Games, the Arena will become a multi-sports venue with retractable seating for 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities to hold a range of training and competition events of all levels. It will cater for a wide-range of indoor sports including basketball, handball, badminton, netball and volleyball, boosting the sporting facilities provided across the Olympic Park.

The Handball Arena, designed by Make Architects with PTW and Arup, features external copper cladding to give it a distinctive appearance that will develop a rich natural colour as it ages. The concourse level features glazing which encircles the building, enabling visitors to the Olympic Park to view sport taking place inside, and illuminating the venue when lit at night. The venue also has a vibrant and multi-coloured interior, with retractable seating to create a flexible space and with 100 light pipes in the ceiling to allow natural light into the venue.

ODA Chairman John Armitt visited the Planning Decisions Team offices in Stratford this week to submit a planning application for the Handball Arena, which follows consultation with local residents.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'This is a simple, sustainable and flexible design that works well for the Games and legacy. The colourful interior will help boost the Games time experience for athletes and spectators, and in legacy will become a modern, practical and attractive facility for local people of all abilities to enjoy a range of sports. The copper-cladding sets the venue in the surrounding parklands and will look even more striking as it changes over time.'

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'This is another example of the Games acting as a catalyst for a state-of-the-art sporting facility which will be a high-quality venue at Games-time, whilst also providing a legacy for sport in London and the UK. The fact that Handball will have its own arena at Games-time will be a great boost to the sport in this country and it will be a multi-purpose arena after the Games.'

Jules Pipe, elected Mayor of Hackney, said: 'The new multi-sports venue is a major opportunity to develop a world class facility for Hackney residents which is accessible and suitable for a range of community sports as part of the legacy of the 2012 Games. Hackney already has high quality, award-winning sports facilities, and the Council is continuing to invest in these to offer all our residents access to healthier lifestyles through sport and physical activity. When London's Olympic and Paralympic Games have gone, the multi-sports Arena will remain as a venue for local people and visitors.'

Design features in the Handball Arena plans include:
Ricky Burdett, ODA Principal Design Advisor, said: 'The Handball Arena occupies an important urban lynchpin, acting as a bridge between the Olympic Park and the existing urban neighbourhoods to the west in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The design is a bold and refined architectural statement: a rectilinear volume raised on a platform that addresses the street and a large podium overlooking the park. At night the internal activities will be visible through the horizontal glazed slot that defines the edge of the building.'

– Ends –

Notes to Editors:

1. The Handball Arena designs can be downloaded at: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr118583075

2. The striking Handball Arena designs are based on simplicity, efficiency and flexibility:

The arena has been designed for its future usage as much as for its 2012 purpose with both legacy and overlay being instilled within the design. The scale of the arena floor space will expand or contract depending on usage. Retractable seating systems can enlarge or reduce the space to ensure the building is as suitable for high volume spectator sports – seating up to 6,000 – as it is for a typical community multi-sports facility.

For further information please contact the Olympic Delivery Authority Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700.

The construction of the venues and infrastructure of the London 2012 Games is funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Mayor of London and the London Development Agency.

Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog.

Simplicity

A deceptively simple building envelope contrasts solidity with transparent elements which offer glimpses of the interior. A solid copper-clad structure sits on a glazed band which encircles the building at concourse level, giving the upper levels of the building the appearance of floating in the landscape. The glazed band, which will be lit up at night, will allow the arena’s internal activity to flow into the Olympic Park outside, engaging visitors as they approach.

Efficiency

Driven by the need for accessibility and flexibility, the simple design also lends itself to a more efficient building, both for 2012 and in legacy. The building has effectively been designed from the inside out so that the form of the venue follows its function, ensuring efficiency in the operation of the venue.

Flexibility

• Over 3,000 square metres of external copper cladding, mostly recycled, that changes colour and character as it ages
• Over 700 square metres of glazing which encircles the building at concourse level opening up the venue to the Olympic Park and enabling visitors to watch sporting action
• Striking multicoloured seating that retracts to enable flexible use of the field of play
• 100 light pipes in the ceiling that draw sunlight into the venue, reducing the demand for electric lights
• Rainwater harvesting from the roof for toilet flushing, helping to reduce water use by 40 per cent 
• Range of materials selected for long-term durability and performance
• In legacy mode the venue will include a health and fitness club with changing facilities and a café for use by the local community
• In legacy mode, the venue offers a 2,743 square metre field of play hosting sports including: 5-a-side football; Netball; Basketball; Volleyball; Badminton; Table Tennis; Handball; and Futsal
• The venue could also host in legacy: Hockey; Martial arts; Kabaddi; Dodgeball; Wheelchair Basketball; Fencing; Sitting Volleyball; Goalball; Wheelchair Rugby