Story
The London Aquatics Centre is a speciality facility. Designed by Pritzker prize winning architect Zaha Hadid it was built to host the London 2012 swimming and diving events and to accommodate over 17,000 people. The Centre consists of a 50m warm-up pool, a 50m competition pool and a diving pool 25m wide and 5m deep with boards and platforms up to 10m high.
We were appointed by Balfour Beatty to build the reinforced concrete substructure and superstructure. Construction was supervised by the Olympic Delivery Authority.
The steel roof, designed to resemble a manta ray, is a sculptural masterpiece. Apart from the roof, the rest of the structure was made of concrete. Concrete was visible throughout the centre and used to create striking features such as the diving boards and leaf shaped skylights. The project won the RIBA London National Awards 2014 and was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2014.
Sustainability
We worked with Arup to reduce the impact of concrete by using secondary aggregates and cement replacement material. In the event we exceeded the project target and were able to achieve an embodied carbon saving of 4000 metric tonnes. The project was awarded a BREEAM Innovation Credit for the concrete mixes used.
