London 2012 Velodrome rides off with Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award.

The 6,000-seat venue will host the Olympic and Paralympic track cycling events in 2012. After the Games, the legacy Velodrome will be used by elite athletes, local and wider communities and will include a café, bike-hire and cycle workshop facilities.

The Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award, which has run for the past decade, recognises new buildings, places and spaces that improve the delivery of public services, give a sense of identity and community, are a source of local pride, and help build a sustainable future. It forms part of the British Construction Industry Awards and is sponsored jointly by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Judges picked the Velodrome out of a list of 27 projects from across the UK, including the Olympic Stadium and the colourful Central Park Bridge that spans spans over the River Lea between the Stadium and Aquatics Centre.

The Velodrome was the first Olympic Park venue completed by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) in February 2011. The venue design team is made up of Hopkins Architects, Expedition Engineering, and BDSP who were appointed in 2007 following a design competition judged by leading names from the world of architecture and design as well as Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy. The Velodrome was built by contractor ISG.

Construction Minister Mark Prisk said: 'The London 2012 Games are a golden opportunity for the UK construction industry to showcase the very best that Britain has to offer. With investment in sporting event related infrastructure estimated to be $200 billion over the next decade, the opportunity for UK business to grow is huge. I’m pleased that this award has gone to such a deserving building. I only hope it’s the first of many British gold medals that the Velodrome will see.'

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: “This is a tremendous achievement for a venue that combines innovative architecture, engineering and construction into a stunning and sustainable building. Along with its striking design, the Velodrome also places sport at its heart, creating a world-class facility for the Games and for a new generation of cyclists to train and compete on in future. This is a proud moment for everyone involved in the Olympic Park and welcome recognition that the project is transforming the skyline of east London with landmark new buildings for people to enjoy for decades to come.”

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: 'Ever since the start of our bid, London 2012’s vision has been to use the power of the Games to inspire change, alongside delivering an athlete centred Games.  The design and construction teams have used the inspiration of this once in a lifetime event to create this magnificent venue, and the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award is a great acknowledgement of their skill and craftsmanship. As the London Organising Committee continues to prepare for Olympic and Paralympic Track Cycling competitions next summer, we can be absolutely confident that this venue will both showcase and facilitate the world’s  best performances from the world’s best riders next summer, before serving the community in legacy.'

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'Not only does the Velodrome represent a fantastic investment in sport, it's a world class achievement in British architecture and design. Its distinctive sweeping roof is already a new icon for London which has transformed the landscape of Stratford. I congratulate everyone involved in its innovative design for being honoured with such a well-deserved accolade.'

Mike Taylor, Senior Partner of Hopkins Architects and lead architect on the Velodrome said: 'We are delighted to have won the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award for the Velodrome. When we originally won this commission we not only wanted to create a world class Velodrome for London 2012, but also set ourselves the challenge to try and design a building as elegant and efficient as a bicycle. It was therefore an incredibly exciting and demanding project for everyone involved, so to receive this award is recognition from the highest level of just what has been achieved. It was only possible because architect, engineer, client and contractor all worked together as one and we are all extremely proud of the finished building.'

Shaun Dawson, chief executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) which will own and run the Velodrome after the Games said: 'The Velodrome team have created an inspirational, stunning venue and it is truly fitting that their work has been recognised. The success of the Velodrome is also down to the immense team work between the Authority, the designers and contractors, the Olympic Delivery Authority, Sport England and British Cycling. The team of outstanding individuals from across these organisations have shown vision, skill and great professionalism to create an incredibly magnificent venue that will have a lasting legacy for cyclists at all levels.

'The Park Authority has been involved since the project was conceived as part of the Olympic bid process and the Velodrome is everything we hoped and planned it would be. It’ll be a proud moment to see the Olympic events take place but, equally, it will be hugely satisfying to see the Velodrome and the whole Lee Valley VeloPark working in legacy with the Velodrome, BMX circuit, road and mountain bike trails being used by thousands of cyclists.'

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

Velodrome fact file:

Velodrome facilities:

• 250m UCI (International Cycling Union) approved indoor track
• 6,000 seats and 360 degree concourse in legacy for viewing all cycling activities
• Legacy café, changing rooms, cycle workshop, & storage for over 300 bikes with a legacy bike hire outlet for families to hire bikes to use the new cycling facilities
• Venue will be linked into cycle routes across London

Cycling legacy:

• After the Games, a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to the Velodrome and BMX circuit to create the Lee Valley VeloPark, combining cycling facilities across all disciplines in one cycling ‘hub’
• The legacy VeloPark will be owned and operated by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

Games-time:

• There will be 10 gold medals to be won in the London 2012 Velodrome, five for men and five for women.  
• There will be five events for men and five for women: Sprint, Team Sprint, Keirin, Team Pursuit, and The Omnium
• 188 riders will compete in London 2012
• The track cycling competition will take place over six days in London 2012

Velodrome design:

• Distinct Velodrome roof designed to reflect the geometry of the cycling track, using a very lightweight double curving cable net structure
• The 6,000 seats are split into a lower and upper tier, allowing a 360 degrees concourse level in between with a continuous ribbon of full height windows
• The 360 degree glazed concourse level in legacy will offer spectators inside the Velodrome views out onto the rest of the Olympic Park and across the London skyline, while allowing people outside of the Velodrome views into the venue and down onto the cycling track

Construction:

• The Velodrome was constructed over a period of 23 months with up to 450 workers on site at the peak of construction and 2,500 workers involved through the course of the project
• Some 48,000 cubic metres of material was excavated to create the bowl for the Velodrome, enough to fill 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools
• 2,500 sections of steelwork were installed to form the Velodrome structure, rising in height by 12 metres from the shallowest point to the highest part of the structure
• The cable-net roof lift took eight weeks to complete and features some 16km of cabling, covering an area of 12,000m2
• The striking outer cladding of the venue uses 5,000m2 of Western Red Cedar timber

Velodrome track:

• The Velodrome has been designed with the aim of creating the world’s fastest cycling track by tailoring the track geometry and setting the temperature and environmental conditions within the venue to create record-breaking conditions
• The venue has also been being designed with seating all the way round the track to create the best possible crowd atmosphere during events.
• Renowned Velodrome track designer Ron Webb oversaw the design and installation of the 2012 track having previously worked on the Sydney and Athens Velodromes
• A team of 26 specialist carpenters installed the cycling track over a period of 8 weeks
• 56km of surface timber from a sustainably-sourced Siberian pine was laid to form the track surface, fixed into place with more than 350,000 nails

Sustainability elements:

• The building has been designed to be lightweight and efficient to reflect the efficient design of a bicycle
• The use of abundant daylight through strategically positioned rooflights reduces need for artificial lighting, and natural ventilation is achieved through openings in the external timber cladding of the venue
• Water saving fittings and collection of rainwater for reuse in building are built into design to help reduce water consumption
• Compact design minimises energy consumed to heat the main arena
• Lightweight cable-net roof structure weighs 30kg/m2 compared to 65kg/m2 for the Beijing Velodrome, helping create a highly efficient building

Notes to editors:

1.    Download Images of the Velodrome

2.    Broadcast quality footage of the Velodrome can be downloaded from the links below or tapes are available on request:

• Velodrome GV/aerials/time-lapse
• Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome interview clip
• Team GB riding on the Velodrome track

3.    There were over 120 entries in 2011 of which 61 were eligible for the Prime Minister’s Award.  From these, 38 UK schemes were short listed, 27 qualifying for the PM’s Award.  All short listed schemes are visited by members of the judging panel and the teams responsible, including the client, contractor, designers, etc, are quizzed during a tour of the project.    

4.    The Awards are the most rigorously assessed in the UK construction sector.  Entrants are required to submit comprehensive information about their project.  

5.    Previous PM Award winners include: Tate Modern, London; City Learning Centre, Bristol; Bournemouth Library; A650 Bingley Relief Road; Jubilee Library, Brighton; City of London Academy; Dalby Forest Visitor Centre; Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, Brighton; Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, Birmingham; New Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow

6.    The Lee Valley Park Regional Authority will own, manage and fund the London 2012 White Water Canoe Centre just north of the M25, the VeloPark, and Tennis Centre and Hockey Centre on the Olympic Park in legacy, ensuring all four are well used by a variety of target groups from beginners to elite athletes with extensive community use, outreach and sports development programmes. They will join the other regional sports venues the Authority owns including the award winning Lee Valley Athletics Centre to create a chain of sporting excellence along the 26 mile long Lee Valley Regional Park. The Park attracts more than four million visitors a year to its 10,000 acres of sport and leisure activities, heritage sites, gardens, nature reserves and riverside trails.

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