Last week, we thought the idea of a prefab, flatpack, reusable stadium sounded like a great way to cut down on the cost and waste associated with what is basically a one-time-use showpiece. As of Friday, that was the latest plan for the London 2012 Olympic stadium, designed by HOK Sport and Peter Cook. This week’s news shines an even more interesting sustainable light on this much anticipated project. The new design has just been unveiled with a host of low-impact material choices, including a façade wrapped in environmentally friendly hemp.
The new details of the stadium’s appearance and materials specs were part of the most recent planning application. In the submittal, HOK states that “The emphasis in the design has been and will continue to be on minimising the quantity of material, whilst still producing the required performance. By designing a lean, compact and lightweight stadium, the amount of materials used, and the associated embodied energy have been significantly reduced. Sustainable materials, options for the roof and wrap fabrics are currently being investigated. These include materials using recycled polymer based fabric, hemp and where the polymer based fabric can be recycled after use. Many of these materials could also be re-used after the games for other purposes.”
HOK’s approach to the London 2012 Olympic stadium has been touted by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) as “superior to the Sydney Olympic stadium and other recently completed football stadiums” in terms of sustainability. It’s designed to allow most of the upper stadium to be dismantled and passed on to the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, possibly Chicago. HOK’s design, with eco-friendly materials and an overall lower embodied energy application, marks a new approach to stadium construction, and the Olympic Games, that seeks to bring more sustainable ideas into the arena.
+ HOK Sport
Via BD Online
Looks like the London Olympics is really pushing the environmental aspects of the event. I wonder how this will work closer to the events with regards to transport and accomodation.