Thirty pairs of temporary support trestles up to 20m high have been put in place to support the huge steel trusses that will form the sweeping wave-shaped roof of the Aquatics Centre, which will be the ‘gateway’ to the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Games and in legacy’.
The steel roof of the Zaha Hadid designed venue will start to be lifted into place next month. After the 160m long roof is in place, which will be longer than the span of Heathrow Terminal Five, it will be lowered into its permanent position on three concrete supports.
Over 20,000 tonnes of concrete have been poured to complete the southern roof support and on the two northern roof supports which are almost complete.
Newport based company Rowecord is supplying the fabricated steel for the trusses and the roof beams to the construction contractor in a deal worth over £10m. The roof steel is being rolled in Gateshead, Motherwell and Scunthorpe by two different companies.
ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'With the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Village, Aquatics Centre, bridges and energy facilities coming out of the ground the Olympic Park is starting to take shape. Work on the Aquatics Centre is on track and final preparations are underway to lift the huge steel roof - one of the most challenging construction and engineering jobs on the Park. The sweeping wave-shaped roof will be a fantastic gateway to the Games and the venue will provide swimming and diving facilities in legacy that London does not currently have.
'Steel fabricated in Wales and rolled in the north of England and Scotland is an integral part of successfully completing this challenging lift and demonstrates the role that companies across the UK are playing in helping deliver the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Games.'
Notes to editors:
Aquatics Centre progress images and a short timelapse film can be downloaded at: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr121021166
Images of the Olympic Park in the snow can be downloaded at: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr121143054
1. The Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre is located in the south of the Olympic Park and will be the main ‘Gateway into the Games', hosting Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo finals and the swimming discipline of the Modern Pentathlon
2. The Aquatics Centre will have a capacity of 17,500 during the Games, reducing to a maximum of 2,500 in legacy, with the ability to add 1,000 for major events, and provide two 50m swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area - facilities London does not have at present
3. Eleven industrial buildings have been demolished on the 55,000 m2 site.
4. Around 160,000 tonnes of soil have been dug out on of what was one of the more challenging and complex areas of the Olympic Park, contaminated with pollutants including petrol, oil, tar, solvents and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead
5. Four skeletons were discovered and removed from a prehistoric settlement discovered on the site of the Aquatic Centre.
6. 140,000 tonnes of clean soil has been brought from other areas of the Olympic Park to prepare for construction to start.
7. Planning permission has been achieved and Balfour Beatty is building the Aquatics Centre and huge land-bridge that forms the roof of the training pool and the main pedestrian access to the Olympic Park. Construction work will be complete in 2011 for test events ahead of the Games.
8. The sweeping roof, which is 160m long and 80m at its widest point, is an innovative 2,800-tonne steel structure with a striking and robust aluminium covering resting on three supports.
9. The roof will be internally and externally clad with timber. The team is currently finalising its selection of the most appropriate timber both for the Games and in legacy before installation in 2010.
10. The river that runs alongside the venue has been widened by eight metre by building 550m of new river walls.
11. The huge completed southern roof support is 9m high, 28m long, over 5m wide, using 850m³ of concrete
12. A 3,000-tonne concrete ‘bridge’ has been built spanning and protecting the tunnels which have been dug to run powerlines beneath the site. The northwest roof support will be built on top of this base.
Construction is well underway on the north east roof support, with 4m high of concrete already poured.
– Ends –
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.
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Aquatics Centre factfile
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